Miha Peče / Wikimedia Commons
Why It Matters
Three firefighters lost their lives and two others were hospitalized as a wave of fast-moving wildfires tore across the Western United States heading into the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The deaths and the scale of destruction in Utah and Colorado mark one of the most dangerous wildfire periods in recent memory for the Mountain West.
Firefighters Killed in Burnover on the Colorado-Utah Border
The three fatalities occurred on the Snyder Fire, burning along the Colorado-Utah border, when firefighters were caught in a burnover incident with no viable escape route. Two other crew members suffered serious burn injuries and were transported to the hospital. The Snyder Fire had consumed more than 28,000 acres as of Sunday morning.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency Saturday in Mesa County in response to the fire threat. A separate blaze, the Gold Mountain Fire, burning in steep terrain east of Telluride on U.S. Forest Service land, pushed Ouray County to declare a local state of emergency and issue mandatory evacuation orders.
Utah’s Cottonwood Fire Grows to Historic Scale
In Utah, the Cottonwood Fire burning through Fishlake National Forest east of Beaver expanded to nearly 100,000 acres by Sunday evening while remaining at zero percent containment. Officials believe it has already become the most destructive and costly wildfire in Utah’s recorded history. The fire’s footprint now exceeds the size of Salt Lake City.
More than 1,200 personnel are deployed to battle the Cottonwood Fire. High winds — gusting between 30 and 60 mph — grounded water-bombing aircraft in parts of Utah on Saturday, hampering aerial suppression efforts. A cold front that moved through Sunday evening brought higher humidity and lower temperatures, offering some relief to crews on the ground.
Governor Spencer Cox has ordered fireworks restrictions through the holiday. Cox banned fireworks through July 5 across much of the state, citing unprecedented fire danger. “Utahns love celebrating the Fourth of July with family, friends and fireworks,” Cox said in a public statement. “I do too. But this year is different.”
Cox also described fire behavior far outside the norm. “We are seeing fire behavior that even our most experienced firefighters say they’ve never witnessed before,” he said.
Babylon Fire Explodes Overnight
A third major Utah fire, the Babylon Fire, demonstrated the explosive conditions in the region by growing from roughly 300 acres to more than 16,000 acres within a single 24-hour period. That fire also had no containment as of Sunday.
The Manti-La Sal National Forest issued an emergency closure Sunday covering the Dark Canyon Wilderness and portions of Bears Ears National Monument as a precautionary measure to protect public safety and provide crews unobstructed access to fire lines.
By the Numbers
- 3 firefighters killed in the Snyder Fire burnover incident
- 2 additional firefighters hospitalized with burn injuries
- 28,000+ acres burned by the Snyder Fire as of Sunday morning
- ~100,000 acres consumed by the Cottonwood Fire, at 0% containment
- 16,000+ acres burned by the Babylon Fire after just 24 hours
- 1,200 personnel battling the Cottonwood Fire alone
Zoom Out
The National Weather Service issued its highest possible fire weather risk rating for the Four Corners region through Sunday night. The agency’s Salt Lake City office issued its first-ever “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning, underscoring that current conditions are outside anything previously recorded in the region. The combination of extreme heat, critically low humidity, and high winds has created a fire environment that is testing the limits of suppression resources across the Mountain West.
State officials have already warned the Cottonwood Fire may be Utah’s most destructive on record, and with multiple other fires burning simultaneously at zero containment, the pressure on firefighting resources remains intense heading into a historically busy holiday weekend for fire activity.
What’s Next
Firefighting crews will reassess conditions following the passage of Sunday evening’s cold front, with improved humidity potentially allowing for more aggressive aerial operations. Fireworks restrictions remain in place for Utah’s Fourth of July celebrations. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three Snyder Fire firefighters are expected to be conducted by federal and state authorities. Residents in evacuation zones across Ouray County, Colorado should monitor official emergency management channels for updates on the Gold Mountain Fire.
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