Firefighter suffers ‘life-altering’ injuries after being struck by falling tree

KAMIAH, Idaho (Gray News) - A U.S. Forest Service firefighter remains hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury after a falling tree hit him while fighting a wildfire, his family says.

Officials say Justin “Riley” Shaw, the 26-year-old assistant crew foreman for the Salmon River Ranger District, and other U.S. Forest Service firefighters responded around 9 p.m. Saturday to begin fighting the Coffee Can Saddle Fire in Idaho’s Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest.

Shortly after they arrived, Shaw was hit by a falling tree, according to Jim Wimer, the national forest’s fire information specialist.

“Almost as soon as they showed up, it happened,” Wimer told The Lewiston Tribune. “It was not a tree that was being worked on. It was one of the silent ones.”

Officials say Shaw was flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington.

Family members called the incident “life-altering” on a GoFundMe page set up to help with expenses. They say the 26-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury and will remain in the intensive care unit for “the foreseeable future.”

“Justin ‘Riley’ has a long recovery. We appreciate everyone’s prayers for continued healing,” Shaw’s mother, Dawn Shaw, told The Spokesman-Review.

The Coffee Can Saddle Fire was controlled by firefighters after burning about one quarter of an acre, the Tribune reported.

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