Key takeaways:
- Three firefighters died and two others were treated for burn injuries after a burnover incident on the Colorado-Utah border.
- The Cottonwood Fire in southern Utah has grown to more than 144 square miles and remains entirely uncontained.
- Utah and Colorado declared emergencies as dry, windy and hot conditions pushed fire behavior to dangerous levels.
Three firefighters were killed and two others were injured while battling fast-moving wildfires along the Colorado-Utah border, federal officials said, as extreme heat, low humidity and strong winds intensified blazes across the West.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service said the crew members had been part of an interagency response to the Knowles and Gore fires. The Department of the Interior said the five firefighters were involved in a “burnover incident,” a dangerous event in which firefighters cannot find an escape route and must shelter as fire passes over them. The two survivors were being treated for burn injuries.
“The U.S. Wildland Fire Service stands united with the USDA Forest Service in grief and in our unwavering support for the loved ones left behind,” the agency said in a statement on Facebook. “Their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also mourned the deaths. “Today, we mourn three heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting lives and communities along the Utah-Colorado border,” he wrote Sunday. A day earlier, Cox described conditions on the ground as grimmer than anything he had seen before and credited crews with improbable rescues. “Please pray for them and for the rains we desperately need,” he wrote.
The deaths came during a harsh wildfire season in the United States. Nearly 3 million acres have burned nationwide since the start of the year, faster than the rolling 10-year average, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Authorities said about three dozen large fires were burning uncontained as crews worked from Alaska to Florida.
The largest active fire in the country is the Cottonwood Fire in southern Utah’s Beaver County. It has grown to more than 144 square miles and remains entirely uncontained. The blaze has severely damaged Eagle Point ski resort and destroyed summer cabins, though damage assessments were still underway Saturday and no final count of destroyed structures had been released.
Hundreds of residents in Marysvale, Junction and Circleville were placed on notice to leave Saturday as conditions worsened. The Snyder Fire, which has burned more than 28,000 acres, also continued to spread after beginning as the Snyder Mesa Fire in eastern Utah’s Grand County and later combining with the smaller Jones and Knowles fires in Colorado.
Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the Cottonwood Fire, told NPR that crews faced single-digit humidity, wind gusts around 45 mph and fuel moisture readings between 2% and 8%. Those conditions grounded helicopters and other firefighting aircraft Friday afternoon and briefly again Saturday. Steep cliffs and canyon walls also made it difficult to move heavy equipment and engines into position, slowing the response.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning Friday, the first time it had used that designation. Forecasters cited a volatile mix of wind, heat and low humidity, with critical fire conditions expected to continue into Sunday. Red flag warnings stretched across much of the West, from California through Arizona to New Mexico.
Utah and Colorado have both declared emergencies. Cox restricted fireworks ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis authorized the use of the National Guard to help fight fires in his state.
Experts cited months of worsening conditions. Utah recorded its lowest snowpack and warmest winter on record, with snowpack peaking three weeks earlier than normal. Much of the wider region, including Nevada and Colorado, has faced widespread drought after an unusually dry winter. Utah state forester Jamie Barnes said fires this season have stretched the state’s firefighting capacity to its limits and have started closer to populated areas than in previous years.
Arizona has also been hit hard, with fires burning south of the Grand Canyon and near Kendrick Mountain. Parts of northern Arizona lost power Saturday after a utility initiated a safety shut-off to reduce wildfire risk. Al Jazeera reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said climate change has increased wildfire risks in recent years by contributing to high temperatures, extended drought and dry conditions.
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