Firefighters overtaken by flames in Calif. mountains

SHAVER LAKE, Calif. — More than a dozen California firefighters trying to protect a mountain fire station from flames were overrun by the blaze Tuesday, and were several hurt. Elsewhere, military helicopters rescued more than 150 people stranded in the burning wilderness.

Fourteen firefighters and bulldozer operators deployed emergency shelters as flames overtook them and destroyed the Nacimiento Station in the Los Padres National Forest on the state’s central coast, the U.S. Forest Service said. They suffered from burns and smoke inhalation, and three were flown to a hospital in Fresno, where one was in critical condition.

The injuries came as wind-driven flames of more than two dozen major fires chewed through bone-dry California after a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than 200.

Rescue choppers pulled another 164 people from the Sierra National Forest through the morning and were working to rescue 17 others, said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who described pilots wearing night-vision goggles to find a place to land.

“It’s where training meets the moment, but it always takes the courage, the conviction and the grit of real people doing real work,” Newsom said.

California has already set a record with nearly 2.3 million acres burned this year, and the worst part of the wildfire season is just beginning.