At least eight Orange County firefighters returning from battling the Airport Fire were injured in a rollover crash on a freeway in Irvine Thursday night.
Officials say six firefighters suffered major injuries and two others had minor injuries when the wildfire hand-crew truck overturned with eight people inside.
It apparently was caused by a ladder that was in lanes on the 241 Freeway. A vehicle ahead of the fire truck swerved to avoid the ladder and the truck swerved too, striking the guardrail on the right shoulder and flipping over, according to the California Highway Patrol.
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The injured firefighters were airlifted to various Orange County hospitals.
The crash happened on the 241 near the Tomato Springs Toll Plaza in the Irvine area shortly before 7 p.m.
AIR7 was over the scene, where the truck was on its side with debris scattered across the roadway. Traffic was blocked on the northbound side and backing up for miles.