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Falling tree injures 4 firefighters battling KNP Complex Fire

By KTVU staff
Published  October 9, 2021 8:27am PDT
Wildfires
KTVU FOX 2

Falling tree in wildfire zone injures 4

Four people were hospitalized and released after being treated for wounds when a tree fell onto them in Tulare County. One firefighter and three conservation workers were in the area of the KNP Complex Fire.

Four firefighters were hospitalized after being struck by a falling tree in Sequoia National Park.

The firefighters had been trying to contain the KNP Complex Fire in Sequoia National Park in Tulare County.

They had to be airlifted out of the fire zone, but have since been released from the hospital.

One firefighter works for Cal Fire while the other three are with California Conservation Corps.

Lightning strikes sparked two fires in September that merged into the KNP Complex Fire.

It's burned 134 square miles, damaged an untold number of giant sequoia tree and is 20% contained.

Sequoia National Park rees wrapped in aluminum

Sequoia National Park trees wrapped in aluminum to prevent them from burning up.

The fire is also burning in nearby Kings Canyon National Park. Both parks are closed because of the blaze. Firefighters had tried to protect some of the famous sequoias by wrapping their trunks with a protective material.

The famed Four Guardsmen trees were said to be unharmed, but experts warn that hundreds of others in groves in the park and other parts of the Sierra range may have burned due to wildfires this year.