Brett Read, a firefighter from Okanogan County, was injured Saturday while volunteering during the Grass Valley fire burning near Grand Coulee Dam.
Officials said Sunday that Read, 38, was injured while trying to leave his work area. The fire's behavior unexpectedly intensified and Read was separated from the engine he was working on and was burned in the process.
Read was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Saturday after suffering at least second-degree burns, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Read’s wife Florie told KREM 2:
"I just want to thank all the people who have been praying for him and our family. The Wildland Firefighter Foundation thank you for getting a place for me to gather my thoughts and all of the help in so many ways the uplifting words, the encouragement, the financial ways, and to all those organizing feeds and the accounts for donations and to all the firefighters that have stopped by it really helps his spirits stay up. And to the village at home helping with my children I would not be here with my husband if it was not for them."
Read has been a volunteer firefighter for seven years and lives in the Omak area.
Over $8,000 have been donated to Read as of Thursday night, which can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/brett-read-fund039s.