LODD: Texas Firefighter Diana Jones

Texas firefighter-EMT Diana Jones was killed battling a wildfire in northern California on Monday.  Jones died while battling the August Complex at Mendocino National Forest. She was a member of Cresson Volunteer Fire Department where she had served for nearly five years.

Cresson Fire Chief Ron Becker told FOX4, “She was a good firefighter. She was a good EMT and she was just a good person.” Jones’ son was also a member of the Cresson department and both responded to wildfires each summer through a company that contracts with the federal government.

The U.S. Forest Service confirmed that one firefighter was killed and another was injured battling the August Complex at Mendocino National Forest on Monday.

“Our department is numbed by the news and we are hurting,” the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post Monday.

The August Complex has burned nearly 243,000 acres and consists of 37 different fires, some of which have merged, that started on Aug. 17, according to U.S. Forest Service officials. About 690 personnel are battling the fire, which was 20% contained as of Tuesday morning.

Diana Jones

Jones and her son, Cresson VFD Capt. Ian Shelly, travel west and work for private contractors fighting fires during the fire season.