Federal wildlife officer dies helping evacuate residents from Oklahoma wildfire

A federal wildlife officer has died while helping residents evacuate from the Railroad South Fire in Comanche County, Oklahoma. The U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said 38-year-old David Taylor of Scio, Oregon, is believed to have died while assisting evacuations. Officials say Taylor was going door-to-door with local crews helping residents leave as flames threatened the area; his last contact with dispatch came while he was helping a family get out. Evidence found in a structure where he was working indicates he died during that evacuation. Taylor was a Navy veteran and a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the Navy Reserve with five deployments, including one to Iraq and four to Djibouti. He served at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. The Railroad South Fire was first reported on Aug. 29; all evacuation orders have since been lifted and the cause remains under investigation.