Michigan Native Among Firefighters Killed Battling Wildfire In Washington

DETROIT (WWJ/CBS NEWS) - One of the three firefighters killed Wednesday while battling a wildfire in Washington was a West Michigan native.

Thirty one-year-old Richard Wheeler, a South Haven native, still lived in West Michigan during the winter.

On Wednesday night three firefighters died after their vehicle crashed and was likely caught by flames as they battled a blaze in Washington, authorities said. Four other firefighters were injured. One firefighter remains in critical condition.

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (OWNF) officials announced Thursday that notifications had been made to the families of the firefighters. The firefighters who died were identified as: Tom Zbyszewski, 20, Andrew Zajac, 26 and Richard Wheeler, 31. Daniel Lyon, 25, was injured and is being treated at Harborview Hospital in Seattle.

Wheeler and two other firefighters were killed as they rushed to fight a fire. The three were U.S. Forest Service firefighters and were members of a highly-trained unit that had been sent ahead to evaluate the fire.

Wheeler graduated from South Haven High School in 2002.

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