Three wildland firefighters died over the weekend battling a wildfire in a remote area of western Colorado. Helicopter crews made the first attack on a wildfire on the Utah border and encountered several new fires in the area.
Two other firefighters survived the incident and were treated for burns. Crews were forced to put on fire shelters—small light blankets—as the flames overtook them, according to the US Forest Service.
“We mourn the loss of three firefighters who answered the call to protect others and made the ultimate sacrifice in serving their fellow citizens,” US Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with their families, loved ones, friends and co-workers as they deal with an unimaginable loss. These firefighters showed the courage, ingenuity and selflessness that define the wildland fire service.”
Firefighters are drawn from the Forest Service and the Wildland Fire Service, a new federal agency launched this year.
The team was sent to put out a fire that was then engulfed by a large flame, called the Snyder Fire. As of Monday morning, four fires had combined and covered more than 28,000 hectares, according to the Department of the Interior.
The three firefighters killed were Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan; Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Arizona; and Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Alabama.
“It’s heartbreaking for the wildland firefighting community,” said Riva Duncan, president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters and a retired Forest Service firefighter. Wildland firefighters are a tight-knit community, Duncan said, that “takes national duty very seriously.”
The area along the Colorado-Utah border was under a “red flag” warning from the National Weather Service on Saturday, with winds of 45 to 55 miles per hour and humidity below 7 percent. While the winds eased slightly on Monday, the red flag warning remained in place.
Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox last week temporarily banned fireworks across the state because of the risk of starting fires. The state was facing one of the worst fire seasons in history driven by a prolonged drought and extreme weather, Cox said in a statement, adding, “We are seeing fire behavior that even our most experienced firefighters say they have never seen before.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency on Saturday because of the deadly fire, authorizing the deployment of the National Guard.
Wildfire experts have warned that conditions in the West are set for a dangerous season, with low snow and severe drought. Climate change has worsened wildfire seasons around the world by causing extreme weather and longer droughts.
“Climate change is producing these fast-moving fires that can easily defeat conventional suppression strategies and tactics,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, an education and advocacy group. He said he doesn’t know enough about the details of the Snyder Fire to comment on the situation there, “but that’s a general statement that affects the entire continent.”
With a bad wildfire season expected, some experts expressed concern when the Trump administration announced last year that it would create a new agency to oversee wildland firefighting. Those efforts were previously spread across multiple organizations.
Duncan, of the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, said he has seen no evidence that the reorganization has affected the nation’s ability to fight fires. Fennessy, the agency’s chief, is an experienced firefighter.
As of Monday afternoon, government agencies have released few details about the circumstances surrounding the incident that left three firefighters dead and two injured. The Home Office said it was putting together a “serious accident investigation team” to review the circumstances.
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