A memorial service is being held this morning for Charles Edward Morton, the 39-year-old crew boss with the Big Bear Hotshots who died last week in the San Bernardino Mountains while fighting the El Dorado fire.
I am at The Rock Church in San Bernardino, where preparations are being made for the 11 a.m. memorial service for U.S. Forest Service Big Bear Hotshots crew boss Charles Morton. pic.twitter.com/91OvRf5cJc
— Brian Rokos (@Brian_Rokos) September 25, 2020
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Only invited guests are being allowed inside the church, and the Forest Service says outdoor seating is limited to those who were invited, as well. The memorial service will be live-streamed on the church website and the San Bernardino National Forest Facebook page.
Among those attending the service are members of the Idyllwild-based Vista Grande Hotshots. Two years ago, one of their crew members, Brent Witham, died in the line of duty. In pre-covid times, 1,500 attended his memorial at the National Orange Show and Events Center in San Bernardino.
Morton’s fiancee’, Monica Tapia, who lives in Irvine, has established a GoFundMe page in his name.
“As we continue to mourn the loss of a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend; we want to honor him by creating a foundation in his memory. A portion of the proceeds given will be used to establish a foundation in Charles’ name,” Tapia wrote. “We thank everyone in advance for the love and support that we have seen and felt throughout this time.”
Sid Williams, who identified himself as Morton’s uncle in a Facebook posting, wrote: “My nephew Charlie Morton was a fabulous young man whom we are all so proud of, and it is an extreme loss to our California & Texas families.”
Morton had worked as a firefighter for 18 years, 14 with the U.S. Forest Service. The Big Bear Hotshots is one of 100 or so elite teams in the country that go into remote areas of wildfires and cut breaks just with the tools the crew members carry in.
“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 statement.
“He will be missed,” the U.S. Hotshots Association said on social media.
Morton’s cause of death has not been announced. Investigations into such incidents can take months.
Sharing our deepest sympathies from Chief Vicki Christiansen:
“Thursday evening we lost one of our own. Charlie Morton, Squad Boss for the Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Crew of the San Bernardino National Forest, was tragically killed during efforts to… (continued) pic.twitter.com/pfzmVkGQ0v
— San Bernardino National Forest (@SanBernardinoNF) September 22, 2020
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: Orange County Register
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