Wildfire along Colorado-Utah border kills three firefighters

A wildfire west of Grand Junction, Colorado, killed three firefighters and injured two others on Saturday. The fire has burned 44 square miles. The five firefighters belonged to a Helitack crew that is dropped by helicopter into remote areas to clear vegetation and build fire-resistant barriers.

The crew stopped fleeing and deployed fire shelters, the last-resort tents designed to protect against heat. Officials said a complete investigation could take several months. Investigators noted that full details of the decision-making process may remain unclear.

Comparison to prior incidents The incident is one of the deadliest for U.S. wildland firefighters since the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona on June 30, 2013, which killed 19 firefighters. That earlier fire occurred 30 miles southwest of Prescott after shifting winds pushed flames into a box canyon where temperatures reached 2,000 degrees.

In the Yarnell Hill case, the final report found the firefighters were qualified and followed all standards. The report concluded that complexity can outpace organizational response.

Use of fire shelters Fire shelters are not designed to withstand direct flame.

Riva Duncan, president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, said on Monday that the shelters represent a last-ditch effort to survive. In a 2015 Washington state wildfire, two firefighters who used the shelters survived while three others in a truck died.