Calgary firefighter killed by falling tree battling Jasper wildfire

A Calgary man died Saturday after a tree fell on him while he was fighting an active fire northeast of Jasper

A Calgary man died Saturday while fighting an active fire northeast of Jasper.

At around 2:15 p.m., Alberta RCMP received a report of a serious injury sustained by an Alberta Wildland Fire employee from a falling tree.

The firefighter's crew provided immediate first aid and the 24-year-old was transported on a wheeled stretcher to the closest helipad.

There, he was flown to the Parks Canada Operations Compound in Jasper, where he was transferred to STARS Air Ambulance, but he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

The man was a Calgary resident based out of the Rocky Mountain House Fire Base.

"This incident highlights the dangerous nature of wildland firefighting and the hazards that crew members encounter every day," a statement from the Jasper Wildfire Complex unified command said Sunday.

"Every single person responding to the Jasper Wildfire Complex is in mourning today for our friend and colleague," it continued. "The wildland fire community is small and every loss deeply impacts us all.