The Gale family and the BC Wildfire Service shared a touching tribute in honour of Devyn, the 19-year-old firefighter who died fighting a blaze near Revelstoke on July 13.
“Devyn was an amazing sister and loving daughter,” said the Gale family in a statement made through the BC Wildfire Service on Sunday (July 17).
“She was so kind and thoughtful. She was the most sensible among us three siblings. She was careful, considerate and hard-working. She was smarter and better at what she did than what she gave herself credit for.”
The BC Wildfire Service also shared words about the young woman after having lost one of their own.
“She was one of us. She was the heart of us,” said the BC Wildfire Service in a statement on July 17.
It added: “It is hard to articulate the connectedness of a community like ours. We work shoulder-to-shoulder for long hours in extremely challenging circumstances. Those experiences change you, they connect you, they sustain you.”
“She died in service of her community protecting the people of British Columbia.”
According to her family, Gale was a third-year firefighter, a strong leader within the service, and on her way to becoming a nurse.
READ MORE: Condolences pour in after firefighter, 19, dies battling blaze near Revelstoke
The Gale family is asking for community members to make a donation to the Revelstoke Community Foundation (RCF) in lieu of flowers.
“The goal is to allow Devyn’s vibrant legacy to live forever in the Revelstoke community,” said RCF in a post on Facebook.
Visit revelstokecommunityfoundation.com/donate to donate.
“As we turn into the dawn, there is more hard work ahead and many communities who need us,” added the BC Wildfire Service. “It is hard to comprehend how we move forward after such a loss, but we find the strength to do so through Devyn’s extraordinary example, in her memory and her name.”
“Devyn Gale. Colleague. Friend. Sister. Daughter. Hero.”
There are currently 379 active wildfires in B.C.
The Northwest Territories reported that another firefighter died from an injury sustained while battling a blaze near Fort Liard on July 16. No other information has been released at this time.
READ MORE: 100,000 square kilometres burn in record-breaking Canadian wildfire season
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