HEATHER CASPI
Firehouse.com News
The identities of the four firefighters killed at Montana wildfires
over the past few days have been released.
David Ray Rendek, 24, died Monday after being struck by a falling
tree while battling a 5-acre fire in southwestern Montana.
He became a firefighter in 1997 and was an employee of the Bitterroot
National Forest. He was assigned to one of the engines at the fire
Monday, said fire information spokeswoman Nan Christianson.
Rendek, a resident of Hamilton, Montana, is survived by his parents
and a sibling. A memorial service is anticipated for later this week,
Christianson said.
The three other firefighter fatalities resulted from a helicopter
crash Friday in the Emigrant Peak area between Livingston and
Yellowstone National Park.
The names of the three were released by Columbia Helicopters Inc., the Oregon
owner of the helicopter.
According to the Associated Press they were pilot Rich Hernandez, 37,
who was from Florida but was living in the Lake Tahoe area on the
Nevada-California border; co-pilot Santi Arovitx, 28, originally from
Spain and living in Hillsboro, Ore.; and crew chief Kip Krigbaum, 45,
of Emmett, Idaho.
According to the Gallatin National Forest Fire Information Center, a
memorial service was held Monday to honor the three. Firefighters
stopped for a moment of silence and to hear a brief message from
Warren Hiebert, Chaplain for the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.
A fund has been established to honor the three firefighters by
placing a memorial at the site of the helicopter crash.
Contributions can be sent to the American Bank of Montana, Attention:
Michele Severson, 120 N. 2nd Street, Livingston, MT 59047.
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