On Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said a firefighter from Utah has died battling the Mendocino Complex fire in Northern California. Cal Fire did not identify the firefighter, saying "fact finding on the accident is ongoing and notification of the next of kin in progress." The Mendocino Complex fire, the largest in California's recorded history, has burned about 350,000 acres and destroyed 139 homes in Lake, Mendocino, and Colusa counties. One of the two conjoined fires, the Ranch Fire, is completely contained while the River Fire is 59 percent contained.
It has been an unusually hot and destructive summer for wildfires in California, and more than 40 people have been killed in fires throughout the state since last fall, the Los Angeles Times reports. Recently, two firefighters died battling the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite, and the Carr Fire claimed eight lives: a firefighter, bulldozer operator, mechanic, PG&E utility worker, and four civilians.
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