Firefighter to be remembered at Hilo event

A firefighter procession to honor Capt. Brian Hughes of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots is planned for Sunday in Hilo. The procession will begin at 11 a.m. at Bayfront Park by the King Kamehameha Statue and proceed to the Hilo Yacht Club, where Hughes’ close family and friends will gather to pay their respects.

Hughes, 33, died while battling the Ferguson Wildfire in California’s Sierra National Forest on July 29. A memorial for Hughes, who grew up in Hilo, was held Saturday in Fresno, Calif.

An official memorial website for him is at sequoiaparkconservancy.org/captainbrianhughes. The site includes visitor-submitted memories and condolences, as well as information about Hughes and the procession. According to the website, his family suggests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be sent to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation in memory of Hughes or to the official GoFundMe page set up to support Hughes’ fiancee, who is pregnant with their child.