By Laura Zuckerman
The Idaho Falls Post Register
SALMON, Idaho — A federal firefighter was injured Friday afternoon when a dead tree fell on him amid a wildfire burning seven miles northwest of Salmon in the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
It is unclear what injuries the firefighter suffered, said Kent Fuellenbach, Salmon-Challis spokesman.
The firefighter was flown by helicopter to Steele Memorial Hospital in Salmon, where he is being treated.
The injured firefighter was one of 11 smokejumpers assigned to the fire near the headwaters of Jesse Creek — east of the Ridge Road — when the blaze was reported Friday morning.
The lightning-caused fire, which was burning to the north and not threatening structures by early Friday evening, grew from 2 to 25 acres in a matter of hours.
In addition to the smokejumpers, two 20-person hotshot crews and a four-member hand crew are working the fireline, Fuellenbach said.
Other resources applied to the fire include air tankers, helicopters and three engine crews.
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