MALIBU, Calif. — A firefighter from South Kitsap Fire & Rescue was struck by a truck while in Southern California fighting the wildfires.
Terry Geiselman, a 46-year-old South Kitsap Fire & Rescue lieutenant from Gig Harbor, had been working the Woosley Fire in Malibu.
California Highway Patrol said a Los Angeles man was driving a passenger truck within a private property when he hit Geiselman, who was sleeping in a field next to a fire truck, some time around midnight Wednesday.
CHP said the firefighter was airlifted to Los Robes hospital in Thousand Oaks with crushing injuries to his chest and left side. Kitsap Fire & Rescue said his injuries were non-life-threatening. He's been admitted to the hospital for continued evaluation.
Drugs or alcohol are not suspected to be a factor in the crash, CHP said. The crash is under investigation.
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue firefighters assigned to Washington Strike Team 2 started the trek to the Woosley Fire five days ago and are scheduled to help for at least two weeks.
They most recently just got off a 30-hour shift and were back to the fire lines after a 24-hour break.
The Woolsey Fire has been burning for one week. At least 100,000 acres have burned in that region.
Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and three people have died.
It’s now more than 50 percent under control.