Butte Lightning Fire 2008

On July 14, 2008, while working on the Butte Lightning Fire, a strike team of engines was assigned to mop-up a dozer line and take care of any hot spots. When he stepped into a stump hole, a crew member received burns to both legs . When he lifted up his pants, his skin was already sloughing off. Walking down the dozer line, the pain increased, he was getting weaker and shock was beginning to set in. The decision was made to land a helicopter and medevac the patient out. One of the crews had an ALS medic bag. A medic started an IV on the patient.

A Type 1 handcrew hiked up the hill with their Stokes basket. The patient was put in the Stokes basket and carried to the helicopter. He was flown to the UC Davis Medical Center for continued evaluation and treatment. The patient had circumferential second degree burns from his ankle to his mid-thigh on his right leg, and circumferential second degree burns from his ankle to his calf on his left leg. He spent five days in the UC Davis Burn Unit. It took three month for the burns to heal well enough for him to return to full firefighting duties.

Burn Injury