Sean & Heather had been married in a private civil ceremony in Brazil while on vacation last winter: [Image]
Fire engine crash kills 3 California firefighters HAPPY CAMP, California (CNN) --A fire engine battling a blaze in northern California's Klamath National Forest rolled off a winding road and plunged 800 feet into a ravine Sunday, killing three firefighters and injuring two others, officials said. Officials were investigating the cause of the accident, which happened just before 2 a.m. not far from the fire command post in Happy Camp, said Marty O'Toole, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center. "It's very hazardous driving, even in the daytime," said Robert Ramirez, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service in the Klamath forest. The area, about two hours west of Yreka, California, is filled with steep, rugged, and narrow roads, not all of which are paved. The fire engine rolled off the ravine and landed upside down. The firefighters were working for the U.S. Forest Service, based in Chester, California, Ramirez said. They had been patrolling the fire lines on the week-old Stanza fire, which grew to 1,350 acres Sunday and was 20 percent contained. Killed in the accident were Capt. Steven Oustad, 51, from Westwood, California; Heather DePaolo, 29, of Redding, California; and John Self, 19, of Susanville, California. The injured were identified as Alex Glover, 19, and Ryan Smith, 20, both of Susanville. Ramirez said Glover suffered bruises but was expected to be released from the hospital Monday, while Smith suffered a more severe head injury and is in intensive care. The fatalities bring to 19 the number of firefighters killed since the summer fire season began. Included in that number are five firefighters killed in a vehicle rollover near a fire outside of Denver, Colorado, and five others killed in two crashes of air tankers fighting fires in Colorado and California. Two others were killed felling trees. A MEMORIAL TO OUR FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS: "I attended a memorial service tonight for three firefighters. They died fighting a relatively small fire in the Klamath Forest. There were no caskets. There were no ministers. There were no wreaths. There were no hearses. There were only the friends, other firefighters, and townspeople who wanted to remember the people who died to save other people from the destructiveness of fire. http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/klamath/incident/stanza/memorial/index.html Names released of fatally injured fire fighters Klamath National Forest, Yreka CA - Three USDA forest Service fire engine crewmembers from the Lassen National Forest were killed when their Forest Service engine drove off a mountain road at 2:10am July 28, 2002. Two other crewmembers were injured and transported to Mercy Medical Center in Redding California. The engine crew was working at the Stanza Fire in the Klamath National Forest 10 miles south of Happy Camp, California. Fatalities: Steven Oustad, Forest Service engine captain, Age 51, Westwood California Heather DePaolo, Forest Service firefighter, Age 29, Redding California John Self, Forest Service firefighter, Age 19, Susanville California Injured: Ryan Smith, Forest Service firefighter, Age 20, Susanville California Alex Glover, Forest Service firefighter, Age 19, Susanville California. The five fire fighters are crewmembers of Engine 11, from the Almanor Ranger District of the Lassen National Forest stationed in Chester, California For more information, please contact the Klamath National Forest Fire Information Center at (530)841-0658 or (530)841-0683. -- Andr� Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com) COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN INDIANS/NATIVE AMERICANS/ALASKAN NATIVES & HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS. For news of interest to Natives subscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/NativeAmericanNews/subscribe/?location=listinfo Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
