'He loved what he was doing': Firefighter who died in California blaze captained elite team

Brian Hughes, a firefighter who died Sunday battling the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park in California, captained an elite team of experienced firefighters called the Arrowhead Hotshots.

His colleagues remembered Hughes, 33, as a fearless man who led his crew in performing an intense, physically demanding job.

“He was motivated, he was enthusiastic, he loved what he was doing," said Joe Suarez, superintendent of the Arrowhead Hotshots, based at Sequoia and Kings National Parks. "He woke up every morning with a smile.”

Hughes was one of thousands of firefighters fighting deadly blazes across the state. At least eight people, including Hughes, have been killed, and seven are missing. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

Hotshot crews go straight to the heart of wildfires, working long shifts removing trees and digging lines. They travel long distances to fight blazes and can go months without seeing their families during fire season. Hughes was killed after being struck by a tree.

Jessica Garcetti, a spokesperson for the National Interagency Fire Center, described hotshots as “some of the most hard-core firefighters that there are."

“They have to be in incredible shape, they have to be able to work long hours doing very physical work," she said. “Hotshot crews are exposed to significantly more risk."

The Arrowhead Hotshots are unique, said Woody Smeck, superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, because the group of firefighters has remained the same over multiple seasons – an unusual feat for such a demanding profession.

“This team has held together for two or three seasons now, intact," Smeck said at a news conference Monday. "I think that’s a big tribute to Brian, his personality, his ability to keep the team together, connected, supported. He was their pillar of strength.”

Michael Kennard, a former hotshot firefighter who founded the website HotshotFitness.com, said the Arrowhead Hotshots have a "great reputation in the hotshot community."

Like Hughes, he loved the excitement and adrenaline rush of firefighting. And the camaraderie of crews, he said, isn't limited to the Arrowheads.

"All of a sudden you take this group of people and you just put them under intense pressure," he said. "The way that everyone rallies around each other – I miss it every day."

When Suarez met Hughes in 2007, he knew immediately that Hughes would make an excellent hotshot. After working together for the Roosevelt Hotshots in Fort Collins, Colorado, they went their separate ways for several years, then reunited when Hughes joined the Arrowhead Hotshots four years ago.

In addition to his leadership, Suarez said, Hughes was "funny, he was kind of a goofy guy, he made you smile."

Julio Campos, another member of the Arrowhead Hotshots, said he was near Hughes when he died, and he was the last person the captain spoke to. Campos said Hughes was "energetic to the fullest."

“When everybody was feeling down and overworked, he was always the person to push people through," he said.

Hughes leaves behind a fiancee who is 13 weeks pregnant, Suarez said. "He will be missed. He will always be remembered."

WFTV