VIDEO: After 492 days away from home, wildland firefighter Justin “Riley” Shaw returned to Idaho on Monday, greeted by about 50 family members, friends, firefighters and community members at the Boise Airport. Shaw, who was struck by a burning tree while fighting the Coffee Can Saddle Fire in North Idaho in the summer of 2024, has spent the last 16 months undergoing treatment, including six surgeries, in four different facilities across four states. “I have no words for his toughness,” said his mother, Dawn Shaw. The incident left Shaw with severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. His parents, Joe and Dawn Shaw, relocated multiple times to stay by their son’s side as he moved between facilities in Spokane, Denver and Omaha.
