Account Set Up For Family of Man Killed In Western North Dakota Wildfires

WILLIAMS CO., N.D. (KVRR/KFGO) — A South African man who died due to a western North Dakota wildfire over the weekend was planning to return to his wife within weeks in time for the birth of their first child.

26-year-old Nicolaas van Eeden died Saturday due to smoke inhalation after he was driving home to Tioga when the smoke became too much.

It’s unclear exactly what happened, but a trooper found him alive and able to walk.

He died soon after arriving in Williston by ambulance.

A fundraiser for the family has been set up at Bank of Tioga.

Bank of Tioga
Attn. FBO Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden
P.O. Box 429
Tioga, ND 58852
(701)664-3388

A second death was reported Tuesday.

47-year-old Edgar Coppersmith of Tioga had been taken to Denver due to his injuries in the wildfires.

Blazes in scattered areas of western North Dakota have injured several other people and led to evacuations of more than 100 others.