Hotshot Killed by Falling Tree While Battling NV Wildfire

A firefighter from Bellows Falls died Saturday while battling a forest fire in Nevada.

Justin Beebe, a firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service, was struck by a tree while working to contain a fire that has been burning since Aug. 8 in Great Basin National Park, according to a news release from the park.

Beebe died on Saturday as a result of his injuries.

He was a member of the Lolo Hotshots, a crew of firefighters with the Forest Service based in Missoula, Mont., near the Lolo National Forest.

But on Saturday, Beebe was in Baker, Nev., fighting what park officials are calling the “Strawberry Fire”: a blaze that has burned close to 5,000 acres and was still active on Sunday, according to news releases from Great Basin National Park.

Beebe graduated from Bellows Falls Union High School in 2008, according to the school’s principal, Chris Hodsden.

While in school, Beebe was an athlete who played on the baseball, soccer and football teams, Hodsden said.

Beebe was well-respected by both classmates and teachers, according to Hodsden.

“You could not find a happier, easier-going, friendlier high school student or young man than Justin Beebe,” he said.

Hodsden said he was friends with Beebe’s family. Beebe’s father, Sheldon, is the owner of K. Beebe Inc., a plumbing company in North Westminster, and his mother, Betsy, is a nurse.

Hodsden said he is proud of the sacrifice Beebe made as a firefighter.

“What is obvious is when someone goes into his line of work, that just speaks to his unselfishness. Folks that do that for a living are out there serving the greater good,” he said.

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