A minivan struck a tree this morning near Petrolia. [Image from Chief Chris Gilda]
Around 3:19 a.m. Thursday, a Honda Odyssey minivan crashed into a tree receiving major front end damage just off the road in Petrolia, according to California Highway Patrol logs. Two were injured.
Petrolia Fire Chief Chris Gilda said, “Petrolia Fire was toned out to a motor vehicle accident in the 1500 block of Lighthouse Road.”
Firefighters learned the injured occupants had walked to a nearby residence so they responded there instead. Firefighters located two patients with head wounds.
CHP later reported the vehicle had major front-end damage;
An air ambulance was requested but declined due to weather. Gilda then called for another helicopter to respond.
“I requested the Coast Guard,” he told us. “They accepted and flew a patient from Petrolia to St Joe’s.”
Emergency personnel transfer patient from City Ambulance to Coast Guard for a medivac from Petrolia after early morning crash. [Image from Chief Chris Gilda]
The second was transported by ground.
The scene was cleared at about 5 a.m., Gilda said.
After the transfer, volunteers returned to the station to clean and restock equipment before becoming available for the next call.
As is frequently the issue in rural areas, other situation can complicate the response. “I guess one more piece to add into it is, during this whole scene, the power went out,” he said.
“But yeah, the call doesn’t stop then, and the work doesn’t stop until you are available again to respond again,” Gilda said.
Gilda also noted the department’s aging backup generator recently failed.
“Our backup generator died. It was, it was an old generator that had been donated to us by the sheriff…in 1993 when the [Petrolia Fire hall] was built, and it was old then,” he said. This January it gave up the ghost. That meant they had to finish cleanup work while struggling to replace the lights normally supplied by PG&E.
Though this added to the burden that the volunteers already deal with, the Petrolia crew finished and are back available for any other issues the storm throws at them.
The extent of the patients’ injuries has not been released.
Petrolia Fire, City Ambulance, the Coast Guard, and CHP all responded.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
If you’d like to support the volunteer firefighters who responded this morning, and other rural departments like them, we’ve posted information in the comments about how to donate.
