August 6, 2023 1:45 p.m.

A Forest Service firefighter employed by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest died in an on-duty vehicle accident on Friday near Powers.

A RRSNF post said the fallen firefighter has been identified as 21-year old Benjamin Charles Sapper. Sapper was originally from Boulder, Colorado and was working as a first-year crew member on the Gold Beach Ranger District.

Sapper graduated from Boulder High School and the University of Colorado, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics. He was planning to start graduate school this fall at the University of British Columbia in Earth Sciences.

Gold Beach District Ranger Kailey Guerrant said, “This is a devastating loss for our own Gold Beach firefighters”. Guerrant said, “We have a tight knit community on the Gold Beach and Powers Ranger Districts, and we stand together in grief and support for his family, friends, and fellow firefighters during this heartbreaking time”.