NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Agencies boost efforts to stop wildland firefighter suicides
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — Shane
Del Grosso spent some 30
summers crossing smoke-
shrouded mountains and for-
ests to fight increasingly dev-
astating wildfires in the U.S.
West.
Toward the end, his skills
and experience propelled him
to lead a federal multi-agency
team that responded to large-
scale national disasters. On
some days he directed a thou-
sand firefighters and helped
coordinate aircraft attacks on
massive blazes.
But then came the long off-
season lacking the shared-risk
camaraderie. Isolation closed
in, his family said, along with
marital problems that can be
exacerbated by first-responder
jobs that require missed fam-
ily events and birthdays.
Del Grosso, 50, killed him-
self May 9, 2016, not long
before the start of another
wildfire season.
“I always thought that you’d
see it coming, but I guess you
don’t,” said his best friend,
Noel Matson, who worked
and fought wildfires out of the
same U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service office in Huron, South
Dakota, as Del Grosso. “It was
maybe that male bravado fire-
fighter thing where you don’t
talk about what’s bothering
you.”
Federal officials at the
National Interagency Fire
AP Photo/Keith Ridler
Bill Arsenault of the Idaho Falls Fire Department looks at memorial stones at the Wildland
Firefighters Monument at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Federal offi-
cials at the NIFC are bolstering mental health resources for wildland firefighters following an
apparent increase in suicides.
able because federal agencies
often track only fatalities that
occur during work hours, and
families don’t always release a
cause of death.
But Gardetto said the wild-
land firefighting community
is small, “and word spreads
quickly.” Anecdotal reports
suggest many of the suicides
are happening outside the
wildfire season. A month ago,
she said, a U.S. Forest Ser-
vice firefighter based in the
U.S. Southwest killed him-
self. And she said several sui-
cides occurred in Idaho in
2017. One of those was a Boi-
se-based U.S. Bureau of Land
Center in Boise have started
making efforts to change
that mindset after noticing an
increase in wildland firefighter
suicides in recent years.
“It’s not a profession where
people want to reach out for
help because they are the
help,” said Jessica Gardetto, a
fire center spokeswoman and
former wildland firefighter.
“The federal agencies have
realized, whether it’s suicidal
tendencies or just overall men-
tal health, it’s a resource that
needs to be available — even
out on the fire lines.”
No figures on wildland
firefighter suicides are avail-
Management smokejumper,
a firefighter who jumps from
airplanes.
Reasons for the rise are
unclear, though some cite lon-
ger and tougher wildfire sea-
sons and an increase in the
number of wildland firefight-
ers who previously served in
the military and were already
dealing with post-traumatic
stress.
In the past several years,
the National Interagency Fire
Center has bolstered a pro-
gram that teaches coping
skills and offers one-on-one
crisis intervention to firefight-
ers dealing with trauma and
other issues. Federal agencies
also have increased efforts to
make firefighters aware that
help is available.
It’s unclear what kind of
help Del Grosso was receiv-
ing. His family learned after
his death that he’d been diag-
nosed with PTSD.
“Obviously he couldn’t
escape whatever demons were
haunting him. And that breaks
your heart,” said his older sis-
ter, Stacey Chaney.
Throughout Del Gros-
so’s career with different
agencies, his family tracked
news reports hoping to get a
glimpse of him at work. It was
easier after he rose through
the ranks to become an inci-
dent commander, a job in
which he often spoke at news
conferences.
He also sent thousands
of wildland firefighters into
burning forests, and they
trusted him to get them out
again.
“He relished his role as
incident commander,” said
Matson, Del Grosso’s friend
and colleague. “He worked
well with people and knew
just about every position, and
everybody respected that.”
Friends and family say
Hurricane Katrina might have
taken the most out of Del
Grosso.
He told them it was the
worst disaster he’d ever been
assigned, but left out the
details. Nearly 2,000 people
died in the 2005 hurricane
and its aftermath, and parts of
New Orleans were destroyed.
“I think that’s where a lot of
his problems started,” said his
mother, Sharalyn Del Grosso.
“Seeing all that death, all that
loss, all that death and dying.
There were so many people
that needed so much, and he
couldn’t do it. That need of
wanting to fix it, to do more,
to make it better.”
Del Grosso is one of the
highest-ranking firefighters
to have his name placed on a
memorial stone at the Wild-
land Firefighters Monument
at the federally managed fire
center in Idaho. The monu-
ment honors some 400 fire-
fighters killed by flames, fall-
ing trees, vehicle mishaps,
airplane crashes and heart
attacks.
That Del Grosso’s name
was included is recognition of
some of the challenges wild-
land firefighters face away
from fire lines, said Bill Arse-
nault, a wildland firefighter
and paramedic with the Idaho
Falls Fire Department in
southeastern Idaho.
“It’s huge,” he said while
walking past the monument’s
stones, noting the names
of some of the firefighters
he knew. “Sometimes we
only memorialize quote-un-
quote ‘true heroes.’ But they
were doing the job no differ-
ent from anyone else. I think
it’s good that we’re recog-
nizing the contribution that
Shane made.”
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Mostly sunny and
nice
Partly sunny;
breezy in the p.m.
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
84° 59°
84° 61°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
83° 52°
79° 51°
81° 52°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
89° 64°
87° 63°
87° 54°
84° 54°
OREGON FORECAST
86° 56°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
70/59
78/54
85/54
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
85/63
Lewiston
75/57
88/63
Astoria
70/59
Pullman
Yakima 86/61
76/55
85/59
Portland
Hermiston
79/62
The Dalles 89/64
Salem
Corvallis
78/55
Yesterday
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Records
La Grande
79/54
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
82/54
79/48
81/53
Ontario
89/63
Caldwell
Burns
82°
62°
89°
59°
107° (1938) 43° (2000)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
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Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
78/55
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
86/59
0.00"
Trace
0.11"
4.55"
5.10"
5.81"
WINDS (in mph)
86/59
80/48
Trace
0.02"
0.15"
9.59"
6.49"
7.72"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 75/49
79/57
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
84/59
83/62
81°
59°
89°
59°
112° (1911) 44° (1905)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
76/57
Aberdeen
78/59
82/62
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
76/59
Today
Wed.
WSW 7-14
W 7-14
WSW 10-20
W 8-16
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
81/45
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:21 a.m.
8:41 p.m.
8:50 p.m.
5:02 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
July 16
July 24
July 31
Aug 7
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 116° in Needles, Calif. Low 33° in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
AP Photo/Rebekah Welch
A police officer guards the front of a road block near the Northwest Detention Center Satur-
day in Tacoma, Wash. A man armed with a rifle threw incendiary devices at an immigration
jail in Washington state early Saturday morning, then was found dead after four police offi-
cers arrived and opened fire, authorities said.
Demonstrators return to
immigration jail after attack
Associated Press
TACOMA, Wash. —
Demonstrators returned to an
immigration jail in Washing-
ton state a day after an armed
man threw incendiary devices
at the detention center and
later died.
Willem Van Spronsen,
69, was found dead Satur-
day after four police officers
arrived and opened fire.
Demonstrators returned
Sunday to the privately run
Tacoma Northwest Detention
Center, KOMO-TV reported.
The demonstrators were pro-
testing the facility and U.S.
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement roundups that
were supposed to begin Sun-
day. There were about 100
people gathered outside the
center, the television station
reported.
The facility holds migrants
pending deportation proceed-
ings. The detention center has
also held immigration-seek-
ing parents separated from
-0s
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showers t-storms
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rain
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snow
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ice
60s
cold front
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Van Spronsen was accused
of assaulting a police offi-
cer during a protest outside
the detention center in 2018,
The News Tribune reported.
According to court docu-
ments, he lunged at the officer
and wrapped his arms around
the officer’s neck and shoul-
ders, as the officer was trying
to detain a 17-year-old pro-
tester June 26, 2018, the news-
paper reported.
According to court doc-
uments, police handcuffed
Van Spronsen and found that
he had a collapsible baton and
a folding knife in his pocket.
Van Spronsen pleaded guilty
to the charge of obstructing
police, and he was given a
deferred sentence in October,
The News Tribune reported.
Van Spronsen had worked
as a self-employed carpen-
ter and contractor, accord-
ing to court documents. He
was also a folk singer, play-
ing shows on Vashon Island
and around the Seattle area,
The Times reported.
CORRECTION: In the Friday, July 12, A1 story on the Eastern Oregon Economic
Summit, a list of local legislators giving speeches during the event was incorrect.
Also, Sen. Greg Walden’s speech may be presented via live video during the summit.
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
their children under President
Donald Trump’s “zero toler-
ance” policy, an effort meant
to deter illegal immigration.
The center’s operator,
GEO Group, said in a state-
ment it was aware of a “com-
munity gathering” Sunday.
“We respect every individu-
al’s right to use their voice and
express their opinions,” the
center said.
Bullet holes riddled the
scene Sunday, The News Tri-
bune reported. Police searched
Van Spronsen’s Vashon Island
home, the Tacoma newspaper
reported.
Van Spronsen’s friend,
Deb Bartley, told The Seattle
Times she thinks he wanted to
provoke a fatal conflict. She
described him as an anarchist
and anti-fascist.
“He was ready to end it,”
Bartley said. “I think this was
a suicide. But then he was able
to kind of do it in a way that
spoke to his political beliefs.
I know he went down there
knowing he was going to die.”
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