A firefighter works on a backfiring operation on the Bug Fire on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. Two people injured in the nearly 90,000-acre wildfire were flown Thursday to the UC Davis Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center in Sacramento for treatment.
Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1
Two people injured in the sprawling Bug Fire that has scorched nearly 90,000 acres in Lassen and Sierra counties and northern Nevada were flown Thursday to a Sacramento burn center, Lassen County Sheriff’s Office said.
The two were initially treated by firefighters and paramedics assigned to the Bug Fire, before the pair were taken via Care Flight to UC Davis Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center in Oak Park for further treatment, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies did not say whether the injured people were firefighters or civilians.
Lassen authorities, in a statement, declined to say where or when the incident took place Thursday or release the victims’ conditions because of privacy concerns, saying only that the information gathered was “preliminary.”
Nearly 600 firefighters are battling the Bug Fire, which has now blackened more than 88,400 acres and was 15% contained as of Thursday morning.
Two firefighters work the fire line on the Bug Fire on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The wildfire has burned across Lassen and Sierra counties and into northern Nevada. Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1
The fire — burning 18 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada, and 110 miles northeast of Sacramento — merged with Nevada’s Fred Mountain Fire. Bureau of Land Management fire crews were fighting the merged fires and the 33,000-acre Stallion Fire in a coordinated attack on the ground and from the air, the bureau said Thursday.
The fire turned back into California late Thursday morning, burning in Lassen County just above the Sierra County line, fire maps showed.
Sheriff’s officials said Thursday they were working with agencies and personnel assigned to the fire to gather more information about the incident.
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The Sacramento Bee
Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.