A fire crew based in Rifle is mourning the loss of three firefighters killed Saturday in a fast-moving wildfire on the Colorado-Utah border:
- Emily Barker, 38, of Michigan
- Sydney Watson, 27, of Alabama
- Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Arizona
They were killed in the early hours of the Knowles Fire, when gusty winds fanned the flames and trapped all three behind fire lines. The fire grew rapidly and soon joined up with two nearby fires about 13 miles west of Grand Junction.
Today these three fires collectively are known as the Snyder Fire, which continues to burn uncontained on more than 28,000 acres. It is the largest wildfire of summer in Colorado with 475 firefighters now battling the blaze.
“We mourn the loss of three firefighters who answered the call to protect others and made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their fellow citizens,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in a statement. He sent thoughts to their families and loved ones, before continuing, “These firefighters embody the courage, professionalism and selflessness that define the wildland fire service.”
These three are the first firefighters killed by a wildfire in Colorado since 2021, when a volunteer firefighter was killed near Joes, in Yuma County, and a pilot was killed near Estes Park.
This is the deadliest single incident since July 6, 1994, when 14 firefighters perished in similar windy conditions fighting a fire near Glenwood Springs.
On April 15, 2008, three firefighters died on the same day in two separate incidents, fighting the Ordway Fire near Olney Springs, when a bridge collapsed, and flying a plane out of Fort Collins to observe fire conditions.
A new fire management team took over the Snyder Fire this morning. Says the operations section chief Nick Ostrom, of Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management, in a briefing today, “Today the weather is more favorable for firefighters with less winds.”
At least seven named fires are burning more than 40,000 acres statewide today, including the Willow Fire near Turquoise Lake west of Leadville and the Gold Mountain Fire on the rocky slopes above Ouray. Two new fires erupted near the southern border in Pueblo, Custer and Fremont counties.
Preview image via Snyder Fire on FB.