Firefighter killed in California wildfire had Minnesota ties

(AP) - One of the four firefighters who have died fighting a California wildfire was born on the Iron Range and had connections to Minnesota. Jason Robert McKay, 27, was born in Virginia, but his family moved to California soon after, his sister Kim McKay said Friday.

"He loved firefighting," she said. "He was a firefighter and a paramedic for the (California) Forestry Service. He did it because he loved to help people."

The out-of-control brush fire fueled by strong winds and dry conditions has blackened about 24,000 acres near Palm Springs, Calif. The blaze has also destroyed 10 homes. Officials believe the cause is arson.

Kim McKay, of Duluth, said her brother always wanted to be a firefighter and went to school for it when he was 18.

"I would always tell him (via e-mail) to keep his head down and that a fire was like a woman - you never knew when it was going to change directions," she said.

McKay said a funeral service in California is being planned for all four firefighters who died Thursday.

McKay's sister said her brother grew up in the Mohave Desert area and is survived by both parents, Robert McKay Jr. and Bonnie Reese-McKay, and his siblings - Roberta Dietrich Sissiton, of South Dakota; Dustin McKay, of Hibbing; Kay Jentoft, of Virginia; Brenda Zimmerman, of Texas; and Jody and Crystal McKay of California.

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