COVID-19 sidelines 16 firefighters battling California blaze

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — A COVID-19 outbreak has sidelined a strike team of 16 firefighters battling a massive blaze encroaching on South Lake Tahoe. SFGATE reports a California Department of Forest and Fire Protection incident commander announced the loss of the crews and warned other firefighters to follow the agency’s COVID-19 protocols during a Tuesday briefing. A Cal Fire spokesman says those 16 firefighters will have to quarantine for two weeks. He did not have information on where the strike team was stationed or their vaccination status. He added that this is the first outbreak on the Caldor Fire.