Three firefighters killed battling Colorado-Utah border fire

Three wildland firefighters were killed, and two others were injured Saturday after they were overtaken by rapidly changing fire conditions while battling a wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border.

Wildland firefighters hike toward the fire line as a helicopter makes a water drop. Three firefighters were killed and two were injured June 27 after being overtaken by rapidly changing fire conditions while battling a wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border. Photo courtesy InciWeb.

The firefighters were part of a five-person Rifle Helitack crew responding to the Knowles Fire during initial attack operations in western Colorado. Officials said the crew became trapped in a burnover, a dangerous situation in which advancing flames cut off escape routes. All five firefighters deployed emergency fire shelters, but three did not survive. Two others suffered burn injuries and were hospitalized.

Federal officials on Monday identified the firefighters as Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan; Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Arizona, who was assigned to the Kaibab National Forest; and Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Alabama.

The Knowles Fire was one of several lightning-caused fires that merged with the Jones, Gore and Snyder fi res into what is now being managed as the Snyder Fire. The blaze has burned more than 28,000 acres along the Colorado- Utah border, prompting evacuations and a disaster emergency declaration from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

The U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture have assigned a Serious Accident Investigation Team to determine exactly what led to the fatal burnover.

Fire managers have warned that hot, windy weather could continue to produce extreme fi re behavior throughout the region in the days ahead.