The firefighters had been battling the massive Airport Fire​ before eight were seriously injured in a rollover crash on a freeway in Orange County, officials said.

CHP investigators told KCAL that the fire utility truck and a vehicle in front of it swerved because of a ladder in the road. The fire truck then collided with a nearby guard rail and overturned, KCAL reported. Officers told KCAL the firefighters had been battling the Airport fire earlier in the day.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Six firefighters remained hospitalized Friday after their truck rolled over on a highway on their way back from working a 12-hour shift battling one of three massive blazes burning in Southern California. Two others were released after the crash, officials said.

The firefighters had just finished a 12-hour shift fighting the Airport fire, which has charred thousands of acres of wildland in Orange and Riverside counties over the last several days, when the

Eight Orange County firefighters returning from battling the Airport Fire were injured in a rollover crash on a freeway in Irvine Thursday night.Our latest coverage of the crash has moved here: 8 firefighters remain hospitalized after crash on Irvine freewayOfficials say six firefighters suffered major injuries and two others had minor injuries when the hand-crew truck struck a guard rail and overturned.