From West Yellowstone Jump Base

 

Forest Service Release

Forest Service Mourns the Death of Firefighter

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Bozeman, MT, June 3, 2021 -U.S. Forest Service mourns the loss of wildland firefighter Tim Hart who was fighting fire in New Mexico. "I am deeply saddened to share that Tim Hart, a Forest Service Smokejumper, has died from injuries sustained on May 24 while responding to the Eicks Fire in Hildago County, New Mexico,” said Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen. “Our hearts go out to Tim’s family, loved ones, friends, fellow Forest Service employees, and the entire wildland fire community, and I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow while respecting the family’s privacy.”

In 2006 he began his wildland firefighting career on the Coconino National Forest and then the Fremont-Winema National Forest as an Engine Crew Member. Then in 2009, he joined the Shoshone National Forest as a Lead Forestry Technician on an Engine and in 2010 detailed to the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew as a Lead Firefighter. 

Tim worked for the Bureau of Land Management on the Ruby Mountain Hotshot Crew. He joined the smokejumper program in 2016 and re-located to Grangeville, Idaho as a Rookie. In 2019 his wildland firefighter journey took him to West Yellowstone, Montana as a Smokejumper Squad Leader and in 2020 as a Spotter.

Memorial services information is not yet available. For more information: www.fs.usda.gov/custergallatin

Tim Hart Biography

Tim graduated high school from Zion Benton High School in Zion, Illinois.  He continued his educational career attending Southern Illinois University where he studied Forestry and Natural Resources.  He graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois and pursued a master’s degree in Natural Resources Management and Forestry from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.

In 2006 he began his wildland firefighting career on the Coconino National Forest and then the Fremont-Winema National Forest as an Engine Crew Member.

In 2009, he joined the Shoshone National Forest as a Lead Forestry Technician on an Engine and in 2010 detailed to the Ashville Interagency Hotshot Crew as a Lead Firefighter.  Following this detail assignment Tim decided to join the Ashville Crew permanently and moved to North Carolina.

In 2013 he moved to Elko, Nevada to work for the Bureau of Land Management on the Ruby Mountain Hotshot Crew. 

He decided to join the smokejumper program in 2016 and re-located to Grangeville, Idaho as a Rookie. In 2019, his wildland firefighter journey took him to West Yellowstone, Montana as a Smokejumper Squad Leader and in 2020 as a Spotter.

He married his wife Michelle in Cody, Wyoming in 2019 where they lived with their dog Dash.  He and Michelle shared a love of music – Tim’s instrument of choice being the banjo.  With his Illinois roots he was a huge Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears fan.

His thorough approach, kindness, sense of humor, and leadership skill were an instrumental component of the West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base.  He will be greatly missed.

Chief Christiansen's Statement

I am deeply saddened to share with you that Tim Hart, a smokejumper from the West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base in Montana, passed away today as a result of injuries he sustained when jumping on the Eiks Fire in New Mexico on May 24.

Tim grew up in Illinois and lived with his wife in Cody, Wyoming.  During his firefighting career Tim was an Engine Crew Member on the Coconino, Fremont-Winema, and Shoshone National Forests.  He was a Lead Firefighter on the Ashville and Ruby Mountain (with the BLM) Hotshot Crews.  He moved to Grangeville, Idaho as a Rookie Smokejumper in 2016.   

In 2019, he transitioned to West Yellowstone and the Custer Gallatin National Forest first as a Squad Leader and then as a Spotter.   His life touched many people across the Forest Service and the wildland fire community.  He will be greatly missed.

My heart goes out to Tim’s family, friends and colleagues, and I ask all of you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.  And, please continue to look out for each other.  I draw my strength, every day, from the compassion and dedication each of your exhibits in service to our nation.  During times of great loss, as we and our partners have experienced over the past week, we pause to reflect on the lives we have lost and the void that can never be filled – and we hold on to, and sustain each other.