The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
SALUDA, NC — A firefighter died Thursday while attacking a wildfire, the state Division of Forest Resources said. Curtis Jessen died when he fell from a cliff at the Big Bradley Falls near Saluda in Polk County, the division said in a news release. Jessen, 32, was the division’s assistant district forester in Asheville and had worked for the Division of Forest Resources since 2002.
The accident occurred about 11 a.m. while Jessen was fighting a quarter-acre wildfire that started Wednesday. His fall and the fire are being investigated, authorities said.