(Originally published at 3:58 p.m. MDT, August 6, 2013; updated at 4:50 p.m. MDT, August 6, 2013; Jesse Trader’s name corrected February 22, 2023.)
The driver of a water truck, also known as a water tender, was killed Tuesday morning, August 6, when his truck crashed while working on the Big Windy Complex of fires in southern Oregon. Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson said 19-year old Jesse Trader was returning Tuesday morning at 7:20 a.m. after working the night shift. The truck hit an embankment and rolled over on the Bear Camp Road near Soldier Camp. Firefighters in vehicles driving behind Mr. Trader immediately stopped to assist. An advanced life support ambulance arrived on scene within minutes and life flight was quickly launched; however, all efforts to save him were unsuccessful.
The water tender, owned by Ace Earthmoving, was being used by County Fire, a private fire suppression company contracted to assist with the Big Windy Fire.
Our sincere condolences go out to the driver’s family and co-workers.
The Big Windy Complex is a group of three lightning-caused fires in southwest Oregon northwest of Grants Pass that have burned 10,832 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Since July 29 the Complex has been managed by Chris Schulte’s Type 1 Pacific Northwest #2 Incident Management Team. InciWeb has more details about the fires.
Below are some photos from the fire. The first one was taken on Bear Camp Road.
