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Three US wildland firefighters killed battling Colorado wildfire
Three firefighters were killed and two others were injured while battling a wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border.
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IANS - Mon, 29, Jun 2026
- 05:20 EDT
- 33
Three wildland firefighters were killed and two others were injured. / File Photo/REUTERS/Tracy Barbutes/File Photo
Three wildland firefighters were killed and two others suffered burn injuries Saturday while battling a fast-growing fire near the Colorado-Utah border, the US Wildland Fire Service said, as hot, dry and windy conditions drove the number of uncontained large fires nationwide to 45.
The firefighters were overrun by advancing flames while responding to the Knowles and Gore fires in Mesa County, Colorado, in what the US Department of the Interior described as a burnover incident in which crews deployed emergency fire shelters, the department said in a statement. The two surviving firefighters were hospitalized with burn injuries, Xinhua news agency reported.
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The Knowles and Gore fires later merged with other blazes to form the Snyder Fire, according to the Department of the Interior.
The firefighters were from two federal agencies responsible for managing public lands: the US Wildland Fire Service and the US Forest Service.
The US Wildland Fire Service, part of the Department of the Interior, was established in January to streamline firefighting efforts across public lands.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency Saturday and authorized the deployment of the National Guard to assist firefighting efforts, Colorado Public Radio reported.
In a post on X, Polis said, "I'm devastated about the loss of three heroic firefighters who died in the line of duty in Western Colorado. The men and women who serve on the front lines of these fires risk their lives to keep us safe and to protect the lands and communities we love."
"To the loved ones of those lost, and to their fellow crew members — some who are still battling the flames — know that the State of Colorado mourns alongside you," he added.
"The State is working closely with the Bureau of Land Management and local officials and firefighters to deploy any and all resources needed to fight these fires, including the Colorado National Guard, and to recover the three firefighters who were lost," Polis said.
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