UPDATE: Severe Burn Victim Recovering

A man who was severely burned and airlifted from Temecula was recovering in a hospital today.

John Rivera, 53, of Aguanga, got a skin graft Sunday to treat second- and third-degree burns sustained in an accident in the yard at his home.

He was sitting around a metal fire pit with several friends on Saturday, and after the friends left, he stayed and fell asleep, according to his wife, Patricia Rivera.

The fire popped sometime just before 10:30 p.m., shooting embers on the victim's clothes. He began to pat the flames frantically with his hands, extinguishing the fire but igniting his hands, his wife said.

Patricia Rivera knew an ambulance would have difficulty finding their home, which is on a rural, difficult-to-navigate road, so she drove him in her car to Temecula, she said.

"We're off the beaten path," she said today. "My first thought was to get him to an ambulance as soon as possible."

She stopped their car in Temecula, and a helicopter landed on Wold Store Road to pick the man up and airlift him to a hospital, causing road closures. To read about it, .

To see a photo gallery of the airlift operation, .

He is recovering -- slowly -- at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, she said. "We have to take it day-by-day."

Editor's note: Fire officials initially reported the man fell in his fire pit. His wife later reported he was burned when the fire threw embers on him. To read the first report,