Idaho Smoke Jumper Killed While Training

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise say a Bureau of Land Management smokejumper has died in a parachuting accident while training. Authorities say 40-year-old Mark T.

Urban of Boise died Friday afternoon about 45 miles east of Boise when something went wrong with the deployment of his parachute. BLM spokesman Ken Frederick says Urban was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic who arrived by helicopter. Urban was one of about 75 smokejumpers at the Great Basin Smokejumper Base in Boise.

Smokejumpers are firefighters who parachute into remote areas to fight wildfires. Frederick says Urban had been a smokejumper for 10 years. He's survived by his wife, Rebecca, and parents. Frederick says smokejumpers in Boise held a meeting Saturday morning to deal with the loss.