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Veteran SD Firefighter Dies Battling Wildfire In California

Associated Press0

CUSTER, S.D. (AP) — Black Hills National Forest officials are mourning the death of a U.S. Forest Service firefighter who died this week while battling a wildfire in California.

Thirty-eight-year-old David Ruhl, of Rapid City, vanished Thursday while fighting a fast-moving blaze in Modoc National Forest. His body wasn’t recovered until Friday.

Forest Supervisor Craig Bobzien says their “hearts are heavy” for Ruhl’s family, friends and others.

Ruhl had been on temporary assignment in California since June.

In South Dakota, he was the engine captain on the Mystic Ranger District of the Black Hills National Forest.

Ruhl began working for the Forest Service in 2001 as a seasonal forestry technicians. He previously served in the U.S. Coast Guard and as a correctional officer in South Dakota.

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