Idaho wildfire fighter struck by tree is recovering in Denver hospital

A U.S. Forest Service firefighter was injured while fighting a wildfire in Idaho’s Salmon River Ranger District. (Getty Images)

U.S. Forest Service firefighter Justin “Riley” Shaw has been transferred to a Denver hospital, while recovering from a traumatic brain injury he suffered while battling a wildfire in Idaho. 

Shaw, 26, was struck by a tree the night of Aug. 10 during initial attack operations on the Coffee Can Saddle Fire in Idaho’s Salmon River Ranger District, according to a news release from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. 

Shaw is an assistant crew foreman for the Salmon River Ranger District.

He has been transported by air ambulance to PAM Health Denver, a post-acute medical hospital, where he will continue recovering and preparing for a long rehabilitation with Craig Hospital in Denver, Shaw’s parents Joe and Dawn Shaw said in a statement Wednesday.

Shaw’s parents thanked Shaw’s crew, fellow firefighters, the U.S. Forest Service, medical staff and people who have written to them and donated to Shaw’s recovery GoFundMe for their support.

“Thank you to all the prayer warriors out there lifting Justin and our family up in prayer. You have really come through when he was not medically stable and had pneumonia,” Shaw’s parents said in a statement. “Please continue to pray for his recovery. We are so thankful for you.”

Craig Hospital, a “world-renowned rehabilitation hospital,” specializes in neurorehabilitation and research for people with spinal cord and brain injury, the statement said. 

Shaw was initially transported via Life Flight to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston before being transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.