A fourth firefighter has died after he and several colleagues were rescued last month as dry, windy weather sparked a blaze near a central Oregon city. Overcome by fast-moving wildfires Close to the Colorado and Utah border.
Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died Friday, the federal Interior Department said in a news release Saturday.
Meanwhile, several major fires this summer are still raging across the American West.
One of the worst-hit areas — and one of the top priorities for firefighting efforts — is a few miles north of the central Oregon city of Sisters, home to about 3,000 people.
Wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour could push the fires into new areas. Still, firefighters are making progress in containing the blaze, and officials are optimistic the city will return to normal once Sunday’s strongest winds subside.
“It’s going to take a while to completely put it out. But as soon as it stops moving, I think people will relax a little bit,” Sister Mayor Jennifer Letts said.
As of Saturday, the lightning-caused fires had burned about 40 square miles and were 5% contained. Letts said about 30 people evacuated from the northern area of Sister Island were staying in shelters at the local high school, and about as many were living in recreational vehicles parked outside.
Letts said the city is not facing any immediate danger and business is continuing as usual.
“We don’t necessarily require everyone to come to the sorority. But it’s safe here,” Letts said.
Several months of dry weather, Record snow shortage In some areas, hot weather and erratic winds have contributed to fires this summer in Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado and elsewhere.
There were 926 fires burning in Canada on Saturday, 82 of which were considered out of control, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.
About 300 aircraft and 5,300 people were involved in fighting the fire. There were 133 incidents in northwestern Ontario alone, according to the province’s aviation, forest fire and emergency services agency.
The largest in Ontario covers about 1,200 square miles.
The US firefighter who died was among a group deployed tent emergency shelter On June 27, they tried to protect themselves as the flames went out. Three of them died at the scene: Emily Barker, 38; Nick Hutcherson, 27; and Sidney Watson, 26.
They were part of a Helitack crew that was airdropped by helicopter into remote areas to try to put out new, rapidly spreading fires in Mesa County, Colorado, west of Grand Junction.
Matthews and another firefighter were taken to the hospital for treatment. The Interior Department declined Saturday to discuss their treatment, Matthews’ career or the current status of the surviving firefighters.
Watson, Hutcherson and Buck Honored at the memorial service earlier this month. Memorial arrangements for Matthews have not been announced.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
