Authorities confirm man died in SW Oregon wildfire

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) – Authorities in southern Oregon say a homeless man was killed in a wildfire near a transient camp earlier this week.

The medical examiner’s office in Jackson County said Friday that a man found dead Thursday inside the perimeter of the nearly 100-acre Peninger Fire died in the blaze.

Authorities previously were not sure if 60-year-old Robert Lee Walker died before the fire near Central Point or during it.

Authorities say Walker was homeless and lived in an encampment by the river near where the wildfire started Tuesday.

He was identified through fingerprint comparison and it’s believed he died on Tuesday, the first day of the blaze.

It’s the second death in an Oregon wildfire this week. Farmer John Ruby was killed while cutting fire lines on a tractor on the Substation Fire southeast of The Dalles.