A West Yellowstone smokejumper died Wednesday night from injuries sustained last week while responding to a fire in New Mexico.

Tim Hart has worked in West Yellowstone as a smokejumper squad leader and spotter with the West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base since 2019, according to a news release from the Custer Gallatin National Forest Service.

He and his wife lived in Cody, Wyoming, according to the GoFundMe set up for Hart’s medical bills prior to his death.

“Our hearts go out to Tim’s family, loved ones, friends, fellow Forest Service employees, and the entire wildland fire community,” said Vicki Christiansen, U.S. Forest Service Chief, in a news release announcing Hart’s death. “I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow while respecting the family’s privacy.”

Hart was responding to the Eicks Fire in the Animas Mountains in southwest New Mexico on May 24 when he was injured. WildfireToday.com reported that he was flown by air ambulance to a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

The Eicks fire burned about 900 acres before being fully contained, said fire spokesperson Wendy Mason.

Through a Forest Service spokesperson, Hart’s family said he loved living in Cody with his wife Michelle and their dog Dash.

Hart has worked in wildland firefighting since 2006, when he began his firefighting career on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona and then the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon. In 2009, Hart became an engine crew member and lead forestry technician on the Shoshone National Forest and, the following year, became a lead firefighter with the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew in North Carolina.

He joined the smokejumper program in 2016, the release said, and relocated to Grangeville, Idaho. In 2019, Hart became a smokejumper squad leader in West Yellowstone and the following year also worked as a spotter.

Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines released a statement Thursday saying he was saddened by Hart’s death.

“Tim bravely served as a West Yellowstone Smokejumper and protected communities from devastating wildfires. I’m thankful for his service,” Daines said.

About 30 smokejumpers work out of the West Yellowstone base, said Forest Service spokesperson Mariah Leuschen-Lonergan. There are nine smokejumper bases in the nation and about 450 smokejumpers.

Smokejumpers respond to fires in isolated areas that engines and more traditional wildfire crews may take a long time to get to, Leuschen-Lonergan said. They parachute into the area of the fire with enough supplies and equipment to be a “self-sufficient module” for several days, until engines and more crews can arrive.

The West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base serves the Custer Gallatin National Forest, the Shoshone National Forest, The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, the Bridger Teton National Forest and both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Early in fire season, the crews also respond to fires across the nation.