Three firefighters injured battling wildfire in San Bernadino Mountains

Three firefighters were injured by unforgiving terrain while battling a wildfire in the San Bernardino Mountains on Monday, officials said.

The Green fire was reported shortly before 5:45 p.m. on a steep slope along Highway 38 near Mountain Home Village.

Within an hour and a half, a San Bernardino County firefighter suffered a terrain-related injury and was hospitalized, said Chloe Castillo, public information officer with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. That firefighter has since been released, she said.

In a separate incident, two Cal Fire firefighters were injured when a rock became loose and shifted, Castillo said. They remained hospitalized under observation Tuesday morning but were in stable condition, she said.

Additional details about the injuries weren’t available.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. It ignited in a rough and rugged area that’s difficult for firefighters to access, Castillo said. All three injured firefighters were working on hand crews, which specialize in fighting fires in such areas, she said.

The fire was 33 acres and 5% contained as of Tuesday morning, Castillo said. Flames weren’t spreading rapidly but the fire was smoldering, creeping along and eating up the vegetation between the rocks on the ridgeline, she said.