O.C. firefighter released from hospital 4 months after being badly burned in Silverado Fire

The Silverado Fire occurred in October of 2020, months later, a firefighter who was severely injured was released from the hospital. Dylan Van Iwaarden sat up in a gurney as he was wheeled out of Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana. Van Iwaarden went through over a dozen surgeries due to his skin being extremely burned from the Silverado Fire. “I’m so thankful for everybody being here for me. It was tragic then, but I’m getting better,” Van Iwaarden said. His arms were bandaged and he wore a hat and mask but deep scars were visible on his cheeks and hands. Van Iwaarden was initially placed in a medically induced coma, spent 114 days in the hospital’s burn center and underwent 17 surgeries, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. He needed operations to replace dead skin with skin from other parts of his body, doctors said.