Excerpts from TheDailyHerald.com:
The Rev. Mary Zajac, is mourning the death of her son Andrew, one of three firefighters who died after their vehicle crashed and was engulfed by flames in a Washington wildfire.
Authorities on Thursday identified the three as Andrew Zajac, 26, Tom Zbyszewski, 20, and Richard Wheeler, 31, who were battling the wildfire near Twisp, Washington.
“The firefighters were engaged in initial attack operations and were involved in a vehicle accident when it is believed that the fire overtook the vehicle,” said a statement from Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
Zajac lived in Winthrop, in Okanogan County, and was a wildland firefighter with the Forest Service, according to The Seattle Times. He received a degree in biology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 2010 and a master’s of science degree from the University of South Dakota in 2014. He had previously worked as firefighter in New Mexico.
