Officials have identified the firefighter who died fighting a wildfire in western Montana when he was struck by a falling tree Wednesday.
Brent M. Witham, 29, of Mentone, CA, was working in the McClain Creek area at the Lolo Peak Fire when a tree fell around 3 p.m.
A helicopter was summoned to a landing zone to transport Witham, according to the television station 8KPAX.
He was assigned to the Vista Grande Hotshots, operated by the San Bernardino National Forest in California.
In a statement, Missoula County Sheriff TJ McDermott said the agency was: “sad to announce that firefighter assigned to the Lolo Peak fire was killed Wednesday afternoon. The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the coroners investigation.
The statement asked that everyone “keep wildland firefighters on the Lolo Peak fire and firefighters across the nation in your thoughts and prayers.”
It is the second time in two weeks a firefighter was killed by a falling tree. On July 19, Trenton Johnson of Missoula was killed working on a fire near Seeley Lake.
