A firefighter from Priest River died in the line of duty while fighting a wildfire in northern Arizona on Monday.
70-year-old J. Hank Hester was helping battle the Dragon Bravo Fire burning in the Grand Canyon National Park.
Incident command says Hester was assisting with hazard tree removal operations when he suffered a heart attack and died at the scene.
4 News Now spoke with Hank’s son, Kaleb Hester. Kaleb is also a firefighter and was working the same wildfire at the time. Kaleb said he had seen his dad that day as they swapped spots earlier. Kaleb said, “He was a fearless, carefree kind of guy. He was a real solid figure for a lot of people.”
“Our deepest condolences go out to the Hester family and friends during this very tragic time. Hank is a member of our wildfire family and will be deeply missed,” said Incident Command Matt Rau.
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