world
Three Firefighters Die, Two Injured in Colorado Wildfire; Crew Had Deployed Shelters
Three members of a Helitack crew died Saturday west of Grand Junction, Colorado, while using fire shelters during a wildfire that has burned 44 square miles. Two other crew members were injured in the incident.
news.sky.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Three firefighters died Saturday in a wildfire west of Grand Junction, Colorado, after deploying tent-like shelters to shield themselves from flames. The victims belonged to a Helitack crew airlifted into remote terrain to clear vegetation and build fire-resistant barriers. Two other crew members were injured in the same incident.
The fire has burned 44 square miles along the Colorado-Utah border. Officials said a complete investigation into the deaths could take several months. The incident ranks among the deadliest for U.S. wildland firefighters since the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona on June 30, 2013, which killed 19 firefighters when shifting winds pushed flames into a box canyon where temperatures reached 2,000 degrees.
The Colorado crew stopped fleeing and deployed the shelters, which are not designed to withstand direct flame. In a 2015 Washington state wildfire, two firefighters who used shelters survived while three others in a truck died. Riva Duncan, president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, said the shelters represent a last-ditch effort to survive.
