Local wildland firefighter succumbs to injuries from fall

Cody resident suffered multiple injuries after parachuting into a fire scene in New Mexico

Posted 6/3/21

Tim Hart of Cody, a seasoned firefighter with the West Yellowstone Smokejumpers, has died from injuries he sustained while fighting a wildland fire in New Mexico.

The U.S. Forest Service announced …

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Local wildland firefighter succumbs to injuries from fall

Cody resident suffered multiple injuries after parachuting into a fire scene in New Mexico

Posted

Tim Hart of Cody, a seasoned firefighter with the West Yellowstone Smokejumpers, has died from injuries he sustained while fighting a wildland fire in New Mexico.

The U.S. Forest Service announced the news Thursday morning.

“Our hearts go out to Tim’s family, loved ones, friends, fellow Forest Service employees, and the entire wildland fire community,” said Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen, “and I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow while respecting the family’s privacy.”

Hart was parachuting into the Eicks Fire when he suffered a hard landing in a rocky area, according to Wyoming Hotshot fireman Steve Nicholson, who is Hart’s long-time hunting buddy. Emergency rescue teams were called in to transport him to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, in critical condition.

The 875-acre fire is located in the Animas Mountains, along the Continental Divide. 

Hart began his career in 2006 in the Coconino National Forest and then the Fremont-Winema National Forest as an Engine Crew Member, according to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service. In 2009, he joined the Shoshone National Forest as a lead forestry technician. A year later he was detailed to the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew as a lead firefighter. 

Hart then worked for the Bureau of Land Management on the Ruby Mountain Hotshot Crew before joining the smokejumper program in 2016 and relocating to Grangeville, Idaho. In 2019, he became a smokejumper squad leader with the West Yellowstone group, being promoted to spotter last year.

Nicholson called his friend “as tough as they come.”

Friends and family rushed to El Paso after the May 24 accident “to help in any way they could,” Nicholson said.

The West Yellowstone Smokejumpers Welfare Fund created a GoFundMe page on his behalf. Currently the effort has raised more than $90,000.

To donate visit: www.gofundme.com/f/support-smokejumper-tim-hart-his-family.

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