US Forest Service firefighter killed battling blaze near Lake Tahoe

A wildfire that broke out several miles southwest of a destructive fire in Northern California doubled in size overnight, charring almost 8 square miles. Authorities couldn’t say how many homes were evacuated or how many people were told to be prepared to flee. Containment was not in sight Monday morning.

All evacuations related to the Rocky fire had been lifted Saturday and it was “absolutely” helpful to have so many assets available from that fire to fight Sunday’s new outbreak, which was burning through heavy timber and brush on rugged terrain, Leitch said. He said firefighters and air tankers battling that fire were reassigned to attack the new fire.

That fire is close to contained after destroying 43 homes and 53 outbuildings. The largest of them, the Rocky fire, is being contained by firefighters.

A second male firefighter who was also injured in the incident has been treated and released from a nearby hospital, the Forest Service said.

The forest service said a 21 year-old firefighter from Shingle Springs, Calif., died Saturday afternoon as a result of injuries received while suppressing a wildfire on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) in northern California. They are part of strike teams sent out by the California Office of Emergency Services to handle fires throughout the state during this eventful wildfire season.

The new wildfire was threatening homes on the edge of the Hidden Valley Lake community and prompting some residents to leave ahead of an official evacuation, said Richard Pritchard, director of golf at the Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course.

U.S. Forest Service firefighter David Ruhl, 38, was driving down a Modoc National Forest road in a vehicle.