Idaho firefighter hit by tree recovering at Denver hospital • Idaho Capital Sun

US Forest Service firefighter Justin “Riley” Shaw has been transferred to a Denver hospital as he recovers from a traumatic brain injury sustained while battling a wildfire in Idaho.

Shaw, 26, had hit by a tree on the night of Aug. 10 during initial attack operations on the Coffee Can Saddle Fire in Idaho’s Salmon River Ranger District, according to a news release from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest.

Shaw is the assistant crew foreman for the Salmon River Ranger District.

He was flown by air ambulance to PAM Health Denver, a post-acute medical hospital, where he will continue to recover and prepare for a lengthy rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Denver, said Shaw’s parents, Joe and Dawn Shaw , in a statement on Wednesday.

Shaw’s parents thanked Shaw’s crew, fellow firefighters, the US Forest Service, medical personnel and people who wrote to them and donated for Shaw’s recovery. GoFundMe for their support.

“Thank you to all the prayer warriors who lift Justin and our family up in prayer. You really came through when he was medically unstable and had pneumonia,” Shaw’s parents said in a statement. “Please continue to pray for his recovery. We are so grateful for you.”