Wildland Firefighter Leslie R. Washington - United States Wildland Fire Service
On August 11, 2026, while battling fires near Ely, Minnesota (Superior National Forest), Wildland Firefighter Leslie R. Washington suffered a medical emergency.
Firefighter Washington is originally from Noorvik, Alaska, and was part of the K-River 2 fire crew assigned to battle the wildfires in the Superior National Forest. They were on the Bear Trip fire which is near Ely, Minnesota. While working this fire, Firefighter Washington suffered a medical emergency and was transported to the closest hospital. Unfortunately, Washington succumbed to this medical event.
Our prayers and condolences go out to Firefighter Leslie Washington's family and the Inupiaq people of the Northwest Arctic where he is from. Our prayers also go out to his crewmembers who worked with him and were with him at the time of his passing.
