Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown said the emergency resulted in what was by far the biggest movement of local emergency equipment for a mass casualty incident.
Cal Fire officials reported that the crash was reported to them at approximately 6:26 p.m. Sunday. It took place on Lone Star Road and Abel Road, east of Interstate 5 between Williams and Colusa.
Brown said a bus that came from Colusa Casino had overturned along the stretch of rural road. There were 52 patients, 40 of them critical and five dead at the scene. Late Sunday news reports placed the number of dead at 10.
Nine ambulances from fire districts around the lake could be seen racing along Highway 20 toward the valley between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Northshore Fire – which has a mutual agreement with Williams – sent three ambulances, said Brown, along with two from Lake County Fire Protection, one from South County Fire, two from Lakeport Fire and one from Kelseyville Fire.
Cal Fire said it sent four engines from Middletown, Clearlake Oaks, Wilbur Springs and Brooks.
Lake County Fire Protection Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta was the strike team leader for the Lake County resources, said Brown. Lake County News was unable to reach Sapeta late Sunday night.
Brown said there were ambulances and fire trucks from all over the valley, including Woodland, West Sacramento and Yolo County. “There was a lot of equipment there,” he said.
Helicopters transported crash victims to hospitals around the North State. Brown said some patients also were taken to Santa Rosa.
At around 8:30 p.m. all of the local ambulances and trucks were released, said Brown, who himself got back home at around 9:30 p.m.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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