Fallen firefighter was a UBC Okanagan nursing student

UPDATE 3:55 p.m.

The wildland firefighter who died Thursday while battling a blaze near Revelstoke was a UBC Okanagan nursing student.

The university announced Friday that Devyn Gale, 19, was a third-year-nursing student at the school.

“Our UBC Okanagan campus is devastated,” says Dr. Lesley Cormack, principal and deputy vice-chancellor of UBC’s Okanagan campus.

“We extend our sincere condolences to Devyn’s family and friends, including all who knew and loved her in our community.”

The university says Gale had strong connections to her fellow students and her instructors.

“The fact that Deyvn was putting herself on the frontline to fight wildfires and also working towards a nursing career on the frontline of our healthcare system speaks to the strength of her character,” adds Dr. Cormack.

“We will all need to take time to mourn her loss.”

The Revelstoke Acrobats Trampoline Gymnastics Facebook group also shared condolences online, noting Gale "lit up every room she walked into."

"Her gym family will miss her immensely. We are heartbroken. We'll remember Devyn for the vibrant, determined, hard working, special beyond measure young lady that she was."

In lieu of flowers, the family is asks that donations be made through the Revelstoke Community Foundation.

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ORIGINAL 12 p.m.

A B.C. wildfire fighter who died while on the job near Revelstoke is being remembered as a kind and thoughtful person.

Devyn Gale, 19, was clearing brush near a small fire in a remote area when she got trapped under a fallen tree.

Her team immediately began first aid until help arrived. She was airlifted to Queen Victoria Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

Her brother, Nolan Gale, says she was an amazing sister.

“She was so kind and thoughtful. She had the best head on her shoulders,” he says in a post on Instagram. “She was careful, considerate, hardworking.”

Photographs Nolan shared on social media show Devyn working as a firefighter and beaming with a smile in each photo.

“She was smarter and better at what she did than she gave herself credit for,” says Nolan.

He adds that he’s grateful for everything she’s done for him and others.

“I love you Devyn, and I hope you’re OK wherever you are now. I can’t wait to see you again someday, on the other side,” he says.

Gale’s death is being investigated by the RCMP, BC Coroners Service, WorkSafeBC and the BC Wildfire Service.

At Revelstoke Secondary School's 2021 graduation ceremony, Gale was described as the school's "best all around student" that year and "extremely hardworking."

Video of the graduation ceremony shows Gale accepting her diploma as an MC reads out a number of scholarships awarded to her, detailing her plans to pursue a career in nursing.

Gale's death is the fourth linked to B.C. wildfires since 2010.

Sixty-year-old John Phare was killed in 2015 while working on a blaze on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver, and two Conair airtanker pilots, Tim Whiting and Brian Tilley, died when their plane went down south of Lytton in July 2010.

with files from The Canadian Press