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LODD: Ore. firefighter dies in fall while on break

Matthew David Goodnature, 21, lost his balance climbing over a rock before falling backward over a downed log and breaking his back

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A firefighter died in a fall while on a break from battling a wildfire Tuesday evening.

The Associated Press reported that Matthew David Goodnature, 21, of Phoenix, Oregon, was dead when another firefighter found him near Four Mile Lake in Fremont-Winema National Forest.

Firefighter Goodnature had walked away from the fire camp while on break and apparently lost his balance climbing over a rock before falling backward over a downed log and breaking his back, according to the report.

Goodnature was working the Launch Fire, which has blackened about 100 acres and is considered to be human-caused, according to the report.