September 23, 2020 11:00 a.m.

A fire fighter working at the Archie Creek Fire was found deceased on Friday.

A report from Unified Incident Commanders Mike Dueitt and Tim Keith said Walter (Wally) Elsbury Junior was unresponsive in his vehicle at a fire staging area, before he began his shift as a heavy equipment operator.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded and notified the man’s family. No foul play is suspected.

Elsbury, from the Elsbury Logging Company in Burns and Hines, Oregon, had been working on the fire for about a week as a skidgeon operator. Elsbury was helping to protect structures along Little River Road south of Glide on the west flank of the fire.

Dueitt said the Bureau of Land Management, Umpqua National Forest and the Douglas Forest Protective Association “…are deeply saddened over Mr. Elsbury’s death”. He said the firefighting community as a whole, and the residents along Little River Road are forever grateful for the work Elsbury did to protect homes on the Archie Creek Fire.