Officials of the U.S. Forest Service Fremont-Winema National Forest district have confirmed the July 9 death of wildland firefighter Daniel Foley.

Foley, 27, died after completing a routine preparedness activity as part of his work in being assigned to the Bly Ranger District. The statement read:

“We are deeply saddened to confirm a firefighter assigned to the Fremont-Winema National Forest passed away on July 9th, 2024,” a statement posted to social media said Tuesday.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the family, friends and the wildland fire community.”

Reports from the fire district state Foley collapsed after a pack test as part of his training duties. An “involved medical response” occurred, but Foley was later pronounced dead at Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls. A message to employees from Jacqueline Buchanan, Pacific Northwest Regional Forester for the district, read:  

“Words cannot express the depth of this loss. Losing even one life is a tragedy, and Dan’s passing, especially so soon after our Week of Remembrance for fallen firefighters, hits me hard,” Buchanan wrote. “Dan was a first-year wildland firefighter, just 27 years old. He leaves a profound void within the wildland firefighter community and at the Bly Ranger District.”

An online obituary for Foley said he began fighting wildfires in Oregon for the U.S. Forest Service since March of this year after moving from New York to Bly. In a social media statement, Foley’s father said his son “lived his dream of becoming a firefighter.”

Foley began his firefighting career as a volunteer with the Twin District Fire Department in Lancaster, New York. He later became an EMT and a professional firefighter for an agency in Fauquier County, Va. He returned briefly to his hometown in New York, working as a nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Buffalo before moving to Oregon with a friend and fellow firefighter to fight wildland fires.

In an online show of support, Klamath County Fire District No. 3 and various fire agencies displayed photos on social media this week of a U.S. Forest Service logo with a black bar across the center.

A procession of honor, with dozens of fire engines and forest service personnel, as well as family and friends of Foley, was held July 11 between Forest Service offices in the Sky Lakes area to the Davenport’s Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Klamath Falls.

A video of the procession was posted to the Facebook page for the Bly Rural Fire Protection District July 11.

Foley’s remains were being transported this week to his former hometown for a memorial ceremony set for Lancaster, N.Y.