Montana procession to escort fallen wildland firefighter from Keizer

Ruben Gonzalez Romero planned to retire after one more season as a firefighter.

For 20 years, he joined crews to take on wildfires throughout the West, living in Keizer during the season.

On Sunday, Aug. 24, his 20-person crew set out for their first day on yet another fire – the Bivens Creek Fire in national forestland in Montana.

At some point, the 64-year-old Gonzalez suffered a cardiac emergency. And despite immediate attention from the…