Klamath Fatality

The U.S. Forest Service confirmed that a second firefighter has died, without releasing the identity. The news comes only a day after 18-year-old Andrew Jackson Palmer, a firefighter with the Olympic National Park, was killed by a falling tree while battling another wildfire in Trinity County.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said she was "deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two Washington state firefighters who were battling wildfires in Northern California."

"My heart goes out to the family members and co-workers of Chief Packer and Firefighter Palmer," Gregoire said. "I ask all Washingtonians to keep the families and fire departments of these brave men in their thoughts and prayers."

Chief Packer was assigned to assume a supervisory position in the firefighting effort. He is a member of a Washington state-based incident management team and is deployed to major incidents, most frequently, large wildland fires.

A Forest Service investigation team is due to arrive on the Klamath National Forest by Monday, officials said.

The 250-acre Panther Fire was started by a lightning strike Monday night about 15 miles south of Happy Camp and has since burned toward Ukonom Creek and the Klamath River. It is part of the Siskiyou Complex fire near Yreka that has burned more than 50,000 acres and as of Saturday, was 36 percent contained.

The chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Abigail Kimbell, on a visit to Redding on Saturday, praised the courage of firefighters battling California's unprecedented wildland fires.

Palmer, the first Washington state firefighter to die on the lines, was working his first day on the job when he was hit by a falling tree Friday. He had graduated in June from Port Townsend High School.

Port Townsend High School Athletic Director Scott Ricardo called Palmer a "bright and shining star."