Snyder Fire surges across Utah-Colorado border, killing three firefighters
Three firefighters were killed and two injured as the Snyder Fire exploded across the Utah-Colorado border, forcing evacuations and a state disaster declaration.
Three wildland firefighters were killed and two others were injured Saturday as the Snyder Fire exploded across the Utah-Colorado border, a deadly run that forced pre-evacuation notices in Mesa County and pushed Colorado into a disaster emergency. The fire, formed when the Snyder Mesa Fire and Jones Canyon Fire merged in Grand County, Utah, grew to about 28,000 acres by Saturday evening and crossed into Colorado near Cisco, about 45 minutes northeast of Moab.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service said the firefighters were assigned to the Knowles and Gore fires near the Colorado-Utah border when the incident occurred. The service said two injured firefighters were hospitalized for burn injuries. The names of the fallen firefighters were not immediately released.
The blaze was burning in southeastern Utah under Stage 2 fire restrictions and a red flag warning, conditions that signaled high risk for rapid fire growth. Officials said crews had been pulled back to staging areas because of extreme winds and dangerous fire behavior before conditions worsened, a reminder of how quickly wildfire operations can turn fatal when weather and terrain outrun suppression plans. Structures were threatened as the fire moved toward Mesa County, where pre-evacuation notices were issued.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency on Saturday and authorized the Colorado National Guard to assist firefighting efforts. The response widened as agencies on both sides of the border tried to track a fire that had already leapt from two separate starts into one fast-moving incident, with the Utah Fire Info mapping it at roughly 28,000 acres.
Officials said the Snyder Mesa Fire was reported to have been started by lightning, while the cause of the Jones Canyon Fire remained under investigation. The U.S. Wildland Fire Service and the U.S. Forest Service said they were focused on supporting the firefighters’ families, friends and colleagues as crews and investigators worked to understand how conditions deteriorated so quickly.
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