Eight firefighters were hurt when a fire truck crashed on a freeway near Irvine, California, on Thursday night, authorities said. The Orange County Fire Authority truck overturned on State Route 241 at about 6:50 p.

Authorities say eight firefighters have been injured in a severe highway crash involving a fire truck in Southern California.

The numbers are painful. Three Southern California wildfires had eaten up 117,546 acres by Friday afternoon, Sept. 20, damaging at least 53 structures and destroying another 242 — many of them homes. Twenty-four firefighters and civilians had been injured.

The firefighters had been battling the massive Airport Fire​ before eight were seriously injured in a rollover crash on a freeway in Orange County, officials said.

The crash occurred when an Orange County Fire Authority truck swerved to miss a ladder in the road, causing it to flip, reports say.

Eight firefighters were injured, including six critically, after a fire truck rolled over and crashed on a California freeway on Thursday evening.

All eight passengers in a firefighting vehicle that overturned were hospitalized, with six sustaining severe injuries.

Eight firefighters were injured in a severe highway crash involving a fire truck in southern California Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

The Orange County Fire Department said that the Irvine, California, crash left six of the eight crash victims critically injured. (Credit: KTTV/ OC Hawk)