(Worthy News) – A Cal Fire engineer died Thursday while battling the Thomas fire in steep terrain in the hills outside Fillmore, officials said.
The firefighter’s death is the second confirmed fatality linked to the Thomas fire. Virginia Pesola, 70, of Santa Paula, was found dead last week at the site of a car accident on Wheeler Canyon Road, which was under a mandatory evacuation order.
Since the blaze started near Santa Paula on Dec. 4, Santa Ana winds have helped it spread. It has burned more than 242,500 acres, making it California fourth-largest recorded wildfire, unseating the Zaca fire, which scorched 240,207 acres. [ Source: USA Today (Read More…) ]