Deadly day in Colorado
Three firefighters lost their lives and two others suffered serious burns while battling the Snyder Fire in western Colorado, officials confirmed over the weekend. The fatalities mark one of the deadliest single incidents for wildland firefighters this year. The Snyder Fire, part of a complex of fires including the Jones and Snyder burns, expanded rapidly under extreme conditions as sustained winds of 40 mph fanned flames through dry timber.
Explosive growth across the West
The third weekend of June brought a sharp uptick in fire activity across the western US. In southern Utah, the human-caused Cottonwood Fire exploded to 59,000 acres and remained out of control. Arizona's San Carlos Reservoir earlier dropped to less than 1% capacity after snowpack collapse, creating dry conditions that primed the landscape for fire. The National Interagency Fire Center reported above-average fire potential for most of the West through July.
Warnings came too late for some
Meteorologists had issued a series of increasingly dire warnings about fire danger in the days before the fatalities, citing a perfect storm of drought, record heat, and powerful southwest winds. Climate scientists note that fire seasons are starting earlier and burning more intensely as temperatures rise. Evacuation orders remain in effect for multiple communities across Colorado and Utah as crews continue to battle the blazes.