Governor Gavin Newsom's office provided confirmation on Thursday that it was three California firefighters who were killed when their plane crashed during the fight against Australian fires. The C-130 tanker that crashed this week had been at McClellan Airport in Sacramento as recently as last August for an event highlighting new firefighting equipment being rolled out by the state to deal with a growing wildfire threat.
This particular C-130 also played a big role in the 2109 fight against the devastating wildfires across California, including the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County.
In a statement, Governor Newsom offered his condolences to the family and friends of the crew as well as the larger CAL Fire family.