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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Dani Anguiano

She spent 50 years protecting people from wildfires. Then one took her life

Kathy Shoopman, 73, perished during the McKinney fire while trying to evacuate, officials said.
Kathy Shoopman, 73, perished during the McKinney fire while trying to evacuate, officials said. Photograph: Courtesy US Forest Service

Kathy Shoopman had seen more than her fair share of fires. It was her job to do exactly that – and she had an eye for them.

The 73-year-old spent nearly half a century in the woods of far northern California, first as a seasonal firefighter with the US Forest Service and then as a fire lookout, watching for smoke in Klamath national forest, immediately south of Oregon.

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