LAUREL — Firefighters gathered shoulder-to-shoulder in Laurel to honor Ruben Romero.

Romero was a wildland firefighter from Oregon who died of a heart attack while fighting the Bivens Fire in the Tobacco Root Mountains.

The solemn ceremony took place at the Montana State Firefighters Memorial, where Romero’s name was added to a wall that now carries nearly 100 names.

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Montana State Firefighters Memorial honor fallen firefighters at ceremony

Jamie Swecker, board chair of the Montana State Firefighters Memorial, said every name on that wall represents more than the fallen — it represents the families left behind.

“Honoring their sacrifice, not only their sacrifices, we have almost 100 names on the wall and the families. Their sacrifices that they’ve gone through after they’ve lost their love to a fire,” Swecker said Saturday.

Swecker said even one name added is too many.

“One of these years we’re hoping that we have none to add,” Swecker said.

The ceremony drew people from across the state, including Missoula Fire Chief Lonnie Rash, who said the fire service does not let distance stand in the way of honoring its own.

“As the brotherhood, the sisterhood, the fire service, regardless, when one of our own is deceased, we drop everything and try to make sure that they, their family are comforted and that we can recognize the sacrifice that they made,” Rash said.

Rash said the ceremony also serves as a reminder to every firefighter still serving.

“The importance is to remind everybody else who continues to serve that there is a dangerous job, that they need to pay attention and make sure that they’re safe, that they’re taking care of their physical and their mental well-being so that they’re able to go out and help our community,” Rash said.

Romero was not from Montana. He was a contract firefighter from Keizer, Oregon.

Rash said that does not matter to the fire service.

“That it shows the resilience of firefighters across the nation that we’re all doing the same job. We’re doing the same (thing), have the same impacts. Regardless of where we’re from, we recognize the importance of the sacrifice that Ruben made here in Montana,” Rash said.

MISSOULA, Mt. — Thousands of athletes, coaches and volunteers are preparing to travel to Minnesota for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, which begin June 20 and run through June 26. The Games will bring competitors from all 50 states to the national stage.

Montana will be represented by 25 athletes and 28 volunteers from 18 communities across the state.

Four competitors from Missoula are among those getting ready for the trip. Jared Redeen as a bowling athlete, Jeff Redeen as a Unified partner in bowling, and Coley Stensgar-Maul and Vanessa Canham as golf athletes.

Team Montana athletes will compete in several events, including bocce, golf, gymnastics and bowling. The national competition is expected to bring together thousands of athletes and Unified partners, 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and tens of thousands of fans.

For the Montana athletes, the next few weeks will be focused on final practices, travel preparations and the excitement of representing their communities on one of the biggest stages in Special Olympics sports.

The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games are designed to celebrate athletic competition, inclusion and the achievements of people with intellectual disabilities. For Team Montana, the trip is also a chance to show the work they have put in — and to compete for medals in front of a national crowd.