Nevada firefighters hurt in Idaho fire
Nevada firefighters hurt in Idaho fire
25 July 2007
published by www.nevadaappeal.com
Two Nevada members of the Bureau of Land Management’s elite Silver State Hotshots were struck by a falling tree snag at approximately 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning while working on the Trapper Ridge wildland fire in the Boise National Forest, 28 miles northeast of Idaho City, Idaho.
The two injured firefighters, Mike Handley, 22, of Henderson, and Nathan Wendell, 24, of Reno, were transported by helicopter to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.
Both firefighters were treated for slight head and shoulder injuries and have been released from the hospital.
They could return to firefighting this week.
“We just want to make sure they’re doing OK,” Boise National Forest spokesman Dave Olson said.
The Silver State Hotshots, based at the BLM-Carson City Field Office, were one of five hand crews assigned to t he 10,884 acre Trapper Ridge incident; they were working their third day on the incident when the accident occurred.
The U.S. Forest Service has offered a critical incident stress debriefing to the crew and will conduct a safety review of the incident.
