A BC Wildfire Service firefighter died nearly one year ago while fighting a wildfire near Revelstoke.
Devyn Gale, 19, was clearing brush near a small fire in a remote area when she got trapped under a fallen tree in July 2023.
Her team immediately began first aid until help arrived. She was airlifted to Queen Victoria Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
“She was a bright light taken far too soon while serving her province in the protection of communities from wildfire,” says Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
Ma took time during a press conference on July 11 to acknowledge the tragic loss of Gale and noted that Saturday marks one year since she was killed.
“I know that it continues to weigh heavily on everyone who knew Devyn,” says Ma. “We are forever grateful to her for her service to British Columbians.”
Her brother, Nolan Gale, previously said she was an amazing sister.
“She was so kind and thoughtful. She had the best head on her shoulders,” he says in a post on Instagram. “She was careful, considerate, hardworking.”
Photographs Nolan shared on social media show Devyn working as a firefighter and beaming with a smile in each photo.
“She was smarter and better at what she did than she gave herself credit for,” says Nolan.
A total of six members of B.C.’s wildland firefighting community — Gale, Zak Muise, Kenneth Patrick, Jaxon Billyboy, Blain Sonnenberg and Damian Dyson — died in 2023.
The province says these individuals exhibited remarkable courage, dedication and selflessness, and their memory will continue to be honoured.
