SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. – A smokejumper working on the Marble Fire was airlifted out Wednesday after suffering from heat exhaustion.
Forest officials were able to call a CHP helicopter Wednesday to remove him from the fire line and take him to a nearby hospital in Yreka.
He recovered quickly and was released later that day.
The firefighter was part of a group of ten smokejumpers working on the lightning-caused Marble Fire in the Marble Mountains Wilderness. The Marble Fire was first detected on July 1 on steep wilderness terrain. The fire was called out Tuesday afternoon, with remaining crewmembers hiking out of the wilderness Wednesday.
It was a total of 2 acres in size, the biggest so far this year in the Klamath National Forest.
The forest says luckily, this isn’t something they have to deal with very often despite summer heat in our region.
“It isn’t super frequent,” said assistant forest fire management officer Heather McRae. “It does happen and that’s where the conditioning, training and the acclimating does help out.”
McRae says firefighters train year-round to best prepare for extreme weather conditions, including heat.
Some of the best tips include drinking enough water, taking breaks to sit in the shade, and not staying indoors all day.
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