A wildland firefighter for the Kaibab National Forest was among those killed on Saturday, as they worked to suppress a wildfire in western Colorado.
Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale died while on assignment from the Kaibab.
He was killed alongside 38-year-old Emily Barker of Michigan and 27-year-old Sydney Watson of Alabama while battling the lightning-caused Knowles Fire.
In a media release, U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Sarah Fisher says it's an “incredibly difficult moment for the entire wildland fire community.
“Our heavy hearts are with the families during this unimaginable time. We recognize the tremendous impact this loss has on them and are deeply grateful for the devotion their loved ones brought to our organizations. We will honor their memory with compassion and support as their selfless service and commitment create an enduring legacy,” she says.
Forest Service officials did not provide additional information.
But retired Forest Service firefighter and vice president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters Bobbie Scopa says the work of wildland firefighters has only become more dangerous.
“We've really increased the danger to firefighters because there's so many more fires than there used to be. And they're so much bigger than they used to be,” Scopa says. “Maybe we ought to have a more realistic expectation about what we can accomplish.”
Scopa says these incidents bring a wave of emotion and memories of other wildland firefighters who have been killed.
“It seems like it keeps happening, and anyone who's a wildland firefighter or who's been one for a while, we've all got connections to other fatalities. So when another fatality happens it brings back all of the emotion and feelings that you had from all the others,” she says. “Those folks that are responding [to fires] are our kids, our children. They’re our brothers and sisters, they’re our friends.”
Officials say the helicopter initial attack team had deployed their emergency shelters when the blaze overtook them in what’s known as a burnover.
Two other firefighters were injured and are recovering.
The wildfire has since burned into the larger Snyder Fire along the Colorado-Utah state line.
On June 30, 2013, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots died during the Yarnell Hill Fire in a similar burnover incident.
