A fourth firefighter has died from injuries suffered when a rapidly advancing wildfire overtook his crew near the Colorado-Utah state line last month, authorities confirmed Saturday.
Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died Friday, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“This is another heartbreaking loss for our wildland fire family,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in response to Matthews’ death.
Matthews had been among a group of firefighters caught June 27 in a burnover, a dangerous wildfire event in which flames move so quickly that escape routes are cut off. The crew was part of a Helitack team, which is typically flown by helicopter into rugged or remote terrain to attack new and fast-growing fires. They had been assigned to Mesa County in western Colorado, west of Grand Junction.
Officials said the firefighters used tent-like emergency fire shelters in an effort to survive the flames. Three members of the crew — Emily Barker, 38, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson, 26 — died at the scene.
Matthews and one other firefighter were transported for medical care after the burnover. Officials did not immediately provide an update on the condition of the other injured firefighter.
Watson, Hutcherson and Barker were remembered during a memorial service earlier this month. Plans for a memorial honoring Matthews have not yet been released.
The tragedy comes as the western United States faces a punishing wildfire season, with dozens of major fires burning across the region. Prolonged dry conditions, record-low snowpack in some places, extreme heat and unpredictable winds have all helped fuel the dangerous fire activity.
Firefighters were bracing Saturday for the possibility of worsening fires in Oregon, where a blaze near Bend was of particular concern because of its proximity to people.
