Utah firefighter who died battling Ranch fire being sent home to Salt Lake City
Family of the Utah firefighter who died Monday while battling California's largest wildfire will escort his body from Ukiah to the Sonoma County airport on Wednesday before he is flown back home to Salt Lake City, Cal Fire said Wednesday morning in a news release.
The agency's honor guard will follow the procession for the firefighter, Matthew Burchett, 42, a battalion chief with the Draper Fire Department south of Salt Lake City.
Burchett was injured on Monday by a falling tree. He was battling the Ranch fire near Lake Pillsbury's Scott Dam on Monday afternoon and was transported to the Ukiah Valley Medical Center, where he later died. Three other firefighters were injured in the incident.
Burchett was one of five firefighters in his department who departed to fight the California fires on Aug. 2, Draper city and fire officials said Tuesday. He leaves behind a wife and young son.
Wednesday's procession will start at approximately 2:30 p.m., heading southbound on Highway 101 before exiting onto Airport Boulevard. Spectators can line streets along the procession route, but should stay in safe areas while viewing the event, Cal Fire said. Drivers are asked to avoid Highway 101 while the procession is underway.
The procession will happen as firefighters continue to fight the Ranch fire, which pushed deeper north into the Mendocino National Forest overnight. It grew by almost 9,000 acres overnight and remained at 64 percent containment.
Since it started in late July, the fire has burned almost 315,000 acres.
Its sister fire, the River fire, remained 100 percent contained at almost 49,000 acres.
No additional buildings were destroyed or damaged Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, though 1,025 structures remained threatened by the moving Ranch fire, a Cal Fire press release said. Mandatory evacuations for Lake Pillsbury, Colusa County's Stonyford and the Pleasant Valley area of Glenn County were still in place on Wednesday morning.
Cal Fire expects the area's hot temperatures and rugged terrain will continue to challenge firefighting crews throughout the day.
You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.
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