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A procession of county, state and federal first responder vehicles paraded through the front streets of Hilo on Sunday in memory of National Park Service fire Capt. Brian Hughes. Read more

A procession of county, state and federal first responder vehicles paraded through the front streets of Hilo on Sunday in memory of National Park Service fire Capt. Brian Hughes.

Hughes, 33, a Hilo native, died last month fighting a Northern California wildfire.

The procession ended at the Hilo Yacht Club where Hughes’ family hosted a memorial reception for close friends and family.

Hughes was captain of the elite, interagency Arrowhead Hotshots based in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. He died after a falling tree hit him July 29 as he and his crew were fighting the wildfire that forced authorities to evacuate Yosemite National Park and close Yosemite Valley.

The parade included firefighting and emergency vehicles from the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawaii Police Department and Hawaii Fire Department.

HFD Battalion Chief Darwin Okinaka said the department was forced to pull its on-duty firefighters, two brush trucks and a tanker from the parade because of a structure fire in downtown Hilo. He said a firetruck from a volunteer station remained in the parade, and off-duty firefighters performed the pass and review at the Waiakea Fire Station.

Park Service Fire Information Officer Mike Theune said he and firefighters from another Hotshot crew who are in Hawaii to help with the Keauhou Ranch fire also took part in the parade.

A 50-vehicle procession accompanying Hughes’ body paraded through downtown Fresno, Calif., on Aug. 4 to a memorial serv­ice at the Fresno Convention Center.

Hughes would have turned 34 on Aug. 1. He was born in Hilo and attended Hilo Union, Hilo Intermediate and Hilo High schools, where he played soccer and ran track and cross-country.