TRIBUTE TO SAN DIEGAN
Charlie Morton died Thursday battling the El Dorado fire
The casket of San Diego native Charles Morton is carried in a procession from the San Bernardino County coroner’s main office on Tuesday. The Hotshot died last week battling a blaze sparked by gender-reveal pyrotechnics.
A firefighter who died last week battling the San Bernardino County blaze that was sparked by gender-reveal pyrotechnics was a San Diego native, authorities said Monday. Charles Morton, 39, a squad boss with the Big Bear Interagency Hotshots, died Thursday “while engaged in fire suppression operations” on the El Dorado fire in the San Bernardino mountains, according to officials from the U.S. Forest Service and San Bernardino National Forest.
According to a family statement, Morton is survived by his wife and daughter, his parents, two brothers, cousins, and friends.
“He’s loved and will be missed,” the statement read. “May he rest easy in heaven with his baby boy.”
On Friday, residents in the San Bernardino mountains lined the highway in respect as Morton’s body was escorted from the fire zone. On Tuesday morning, a U.S. Forest Service Honor Guard and California Highway Patrol officers escorted his body from San Bernardino County to a mortuary in Orange County.
“Charlie was a well-respected leader who was always there for his squad and his crew at the toughest times,” U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen said in a news release. “Our hearts go out to Charlie’s loved ones, coworkers, friends and the Big Bear Hotshots. We will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”
Morton began his career in 2002 with the California Conservation Corps, and joined the Forest Service in 2006, where he worked for the Truckee Interagency Hotshots, the Front Country and Mountaintop ranger districts, the Mill Creek Interagency Hotshots and finally the Big Bear Interagency Hotshots.
State Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat, hailed Morton for dedicating “his life and career to protecting our communities” with both agencies for which he worked.
“San Diego, and the state, lost a true hero last week with the death of (Morton),” a statement from Atkins read. “My sincere condolences go to his wife, daughter, and his entire family, as well as the firefighters with whom he served.”
The El Dorado fire broke out Sept. 7 near Yucaipa. Officials said it was caused by a smoke-emitting pyrotechnic device that was part of a gender-reveal party in a park. Such devices typically shoot off blue or pink smoke to signal the gender of an expected child.
At least 26 deaths have been attributed to California wildfires since August. Morton is the third firefighter to die in that span.
On Aug. 19, a firefighting helicopter on a water-dropping mission crashed in Fresno County, killing the pilot, Michael John Fournier, 52, of Rancho Cucamonga.
Firefighter Diane Jones, 63, was fatally injured Aug. 31 while battling the Tatham fire in Tehama County, which was part of the sprawling August Complex fire north of the Bay Area — now considered the largest in California’s modern history.
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com