CA Firefighter Dies During Wildfire Operations

A veteran firefighter serving with a volunteer fire department in Inyo County, CA, has died while assigned to operations against the Stagecoach Fire.

The Big Pine Volunteer Fire Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday night that Engineer Pete Hein had passed away while working with the U.S. Forest Service to combat the wildfire burning in Kern County.

According to the post, Hein had retired as a captain with CAL FIRE-Bishop Camp before moving to Big Pine, where he joined the volunteer department and had served for the last five years.

"Pete’s sense of humor was great! He will be missed by the BP Fire Dept Family," reads the social media post, which also says he is survived by two sons.