Wildfires rage across West as Colorado firefighters die in burnover

On June 27, five federal firefighters were caught in a burnover on a western Colorado wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border, and three did not survive. Two firefighters were treated for burn injuries after shelter deployment, and the U.S. Wildland Fire Service and U.S. Forest Service withheld their identities pending notifications.

The firefighters had been assigned to the Knowles and Gore fires when the incident occurred. The larger blaze began as the Snyder Mesa Fire in Grand County, Utah, before crossing into Colorado and merging with the smaller Jones and Knowles fires in Mesa County, Colorado. By Saturday, the merged fire had grown to more than 28,000 acres with 0% containment, pushing evacuation warnings for smaller Mesa County communities.

The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Team responded to eight confirmed wildfires after lightning strikes on Friday evening, and several of those fires started inside the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. Red flag warnings covered the region, with gusts reaching 44 mph and dry, low-humidity conditions feeding fire growth.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency on June 27 and authorized the Colorado National Guard to assist response efforts. The Colorado State Emergency Operations Center moved to Level II operations as the state and federal crews tried to keep pace with fires straddling the Utah-Colorado border.

The U.S. Forest Service raised National Wildland Fire Preparedness Level 3 on June 19.