VAFB fire officials reported that there was minimal overnight activity Wednesday, and Santa Barbara County Fire lifted all off-base evacuation orders as of 6 a.m.
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The truck crashed before dawn at a roundabout on a two-lane highway just outside Vandenberg, said Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Steve Swindle, killing Ryan Osler and injuring Adam Price.
Swindle said Fire Engineer Ryan Osler died and the other firefighter was hospitalized in serious condition. They suspect winds downed a power line, causing the fire.
The crash remains under investigation.
Osler, 38, was a Valencia resident and 18-year member of the Ventura County Fire Department.
The fire that broke out in a remote canyon and forced the postponement of a satellite launch was holding steady at about 19 square miles (49 sq. kilometers) after several days of growth.
We are learning more this morning on a crash in Southern California that left a firefighter dead. The driver of the crash was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, the report read.
On Wednesday afternoon, there was a procession of fire vehicles that accompanied Osler’s body from the coroner’s office in Santa Barbara to a funeral home in Camarillo. Hand crews, bulldozers, fire engines and aircraft were pulled from the Canyon Fire as flames from the second fire moved south, Zaniboni said. “My prayers are with his immediate family as well as his extended firefighting family during these extremely hard times”. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family”, commented Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen.
Gov. Jerry Brown said Osler’s death should serve as a reminder of “the dangers firefighters face every day”.
“It was in his hallway leading into this master bedroom”, Yniguez told the Ventura County Star.
A wildfire at Vandenberg Air Force Base has grown to more than 12,000 acres. postpones a commercial satellite launch.
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All flags were ordered to half-staff immediately, and mourning bands will be worn until further notice. “My prayers are with Ryan, his wife and their two children”, according to a statement from Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita.
