A 29-year-old Southern California firefighter was killed battling a wildfire in Montana, authorities said Thursday.
Brent M. Witham of Mentone was identified as the firefighter who died on the 6,500-acre Lolo Peak Fire in the mountains southwest of Missoula.
His identity was confirmed Thursday afternoon by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, which said the death was the result of a “‘tree felling’ accident.”
Witham was struck by a falling snag and was given CPR and then taken by helicopter to Missoula, the Missoulian newspaper reported.
Witham was assigned to the Lolo Peak Fire but was a firefighter with the San Bernardino National Forest. He was a member of the Vista Grande hotshot crew, based in Idyllwild, according to Lolo Peak fire information officer Mark Struble.