A 32-year-old firefighter from the San Diego area who was battling the Thomas fire died Thursday, a loss that a local Cal Fire official said “has shaken our organization to the core.”
Cal Fire authorities confirmed at news conferences in Ventura, where the fire is burning, and San Diego County that the fallen firefighter was Cory Iverson, who was assigned to the massive blaze with a fire engine strike team from Cal Fire’s San Diego unit. Iverson, a fire apparatus engineer, had been with Cal Fire since 2009. The North County resident is survived by his wife, Ashley, and a 2-year-old daughter. His wife is pregnant with their second daughter, due in the spring.
Cal Fire San Diego Chief Tony Meacham said at a media briefing in Escondido that the fallen firefighter had been with a five-engine strike team and engaged in a “very active part of the fire” just outside of Fillmore when the accident happened. He did not specify how Iverson was killed.