Boulder native Benjamin Charles Sapper, 21, was killed in an on-duty vehicle crash Friday while working as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter near Powers, Ore.,according to a U.S. Forest Service news release.
Sapper attended Boulder High School and the University of Colorado, where he studied applied mathematics. The news release described him as an avid baseball player, chess player and skier who loved engaging others in a wide array of topics including philosophy and mathematics.
He worked as a first-year hand crew member in the Gold Beach Ranger District while employed by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The release said he joined the Forest Service out of desire to serve the community and be part of a great team.
He was set to start graduate school in the fall at the University of British Columbia in Earth Sciences, according to the release.
“This is a devastating loss of one of our own Gold Beach firefighters,” Gold Beach District Ranger Kailey Guerrant said in the release. “We have a tight knit community on the Gold Beach and Powers Ranger Districts, and we stand together in grief and support for his family, friends, and fellow firefighters during this heartbreaking time.”
