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Remembering
Daniel Kurtis Hoover Najera
USDA Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest — California
Classification: Seasonal
Rank: Firefighter
Date of Death: October 26, 2006
Age: 20
Firefighter Daniel Hoover Najera was one
of five firefighters killed while protecting
a structure on the Esperanza
Fire, October 26, 2006. That day,
the family lost a son, a brother, a
nephew, a cousin, and a friend.
Daniel was educated from
grades K-8 in Riverside,
Antioch, and Utah, often
attending Seventh-day
Adventist schools while
traveling with his grandparents,
who built
churches around the world.
He attended grades 8-12
in San Jacinto and graduated
from Mountain View
High School in 2004.
Danny’s dream as a young
boy and teen was to become a
firefighter. After his graduation
from high school, he began training,
applied for work with the U. S.
Forest Service, and became a seasonal
employee in 2005. Danny found his passion
and calling in this life. He loved fighting fires.
When Danny visited with family, he told them how
much he “wanted to be on the fire engine.” When
he spoke about being a firefighter, you could see
the light of true happiness in his eyes. This was the
beginning of a young man’s journey.
When the season was over, Danny began to work
at Lowe’s distribution center and continued to hike
and skateboard daily. Skateboarding was definitely
a favorite pastime of Danny’s. He would often
arrive at home with a broken board and
ask for a ride to the skateboard shop
to replace the board and/or skate
shoes that had been worn out
while on his excursions.
Danny was known and
respected by his family and
friends as an individual of
integrity, a man of leadership,
and a warrior for
what he believed was
right and just. He had the
ability to perceive people’s
honesty and motives.
Daniel was born on March
25, 1986, and left us on
October 26, 2006. He is survived
by his mother and stepfather,
Gloria and Efren Ayala
Jr., brother and sister, Monica
and Michael; his father and stepmother,
Tim and Lisa Hoover,
brother and sister, Billy and Nikki; his
aunt, Vivian Bauder, and cousin, Rikk; and
his grandfather, Patrick Najera. Many friends and
extended family will also miss him greatly.
The U.S. Forest Service family and the City of San
Jacinto will miss Daniel, Mark Loutzenhiser, Jason
McKay, Jess McLean and Pablo Cerda—the warriors
who bravely fought the Esperanza Fire for the
safety of the community. Danny is loved by many
people—both family and friends and brother firefighters
and will be forever missed.