Firefighter who died last week battling Donnie Creek wildfire was a Kelowna resident

Photo: CTV News

Zak Muise

A firefighter who died last week battling B.C.’s largest-ever wildfire was a Kelowna resident.

Zak Muise, 25, was an employee of Summerland-based Big Cat Wildfire and had spent two summers prior to that working as a wildland firefighter in B.C.

“Nobody ever had a bad thing to say about the guy. You know, you talk about a person that was honest and hard working, and Zak was the definition of that. He was true testament of a quality of a person it takes to do this job,” said Big Cat Wildfire owner Mike Smesman, in an interview with CTV News.

Muise was identified as being from Ontario when his death was initially announced, but in fact, he had been living in Kelowna for several years.

He was excited to be deployed to the Donnie Creek fire outside Fort. St John.

“The whole drive up, he kept mentioning just how honoured and excited he was to get to put his mark on the Donnie Creek fire, as the fire is labelled the largest fire in our province’s history,” Big Cat crew leader Jarad Gibbenhuck told CTV.

“I was his crew leader. I had the privilege of working with him over the past couple weeks. He was a phenomenal employee. He was one of the first ones up the morning and one of the last guys to call it a day,” Gibbenhuck continued.

RCMP have said Muise was killed Friday when his heavy-duty ATV rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road in a remote area about 150 kilometres north of Fort St. John.

A brief online obituary posted on the website of a Waterford, Ont., funeral home in the name of his family says Muise is survived by his parents and five older siblings.

It says Muise was "loved by many," and the family is grateful to all firefighters and other first responders "who are still fighting."

It says a funeral is scheduled for later this month in Simcoe, Ont., and that a public memorial in B.C. is also being planned. Big Cat Wildfire says it is planning a memorial for Penticton next week.

A fundraiser for the Canadian Critical Incident Stress Foundation has been launched in Muise's honour.

The organization provides support, education and training for first responders, veterans and their families and runs a camp for families and children coping with loss.

Muise's Instagram page shows him enjoying time outdoors with family and friends, camping, snowboarding and golfing.

Smesman called the death a “tragic loss.”

“It’s something we will never get over. It’s hard, there is no other word to describe it,” he told CTV, adding it feels personal for him, as he has spent years fighting fires himself. “It definitely hits home for me, I’m a crew leader for one of our own crews, and my own son is on my crew. So it’s hard when you think about it that way.”

Muise is the fourth Canadian firefighter to die this year fighting wildfires, and the second to die in B.C.

On July 13, 19-year-old Devyn Gale died while combating a wildfire near her hometown of Revelstoke, B.C., after she was struck by a falling tree. She was also a nursing student at UBC Okanagan.

"Our hearts go out to all the families of fallen firefighters," Muise's obituary says.

with files from CTV Vancouver and The Canadian Press