Another firefighter caught in a wildfire on Colorado’s Western Slope last month has died from his injuries, bringing the death toll to four, federal officials announced Friday.
Nathan Matthews, a 43-year-old wildland firefighter from Lincoln, Nebraska, died on Friday, nearly a month after he and four other firefighters were overtaken by flames near the Colorado-Utah border, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“His bravery, and the bravery of his colleagues, is the reason that so many of our homes, communities, and lands have been protected from the fires over the course of this season,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement. “Tragedies like this greatly impact all of the firefighters serving in Colorado and across the country, but know that you do not mourn alone.”
All five firefighters were working with the Rifle Helitack, an interagency firefighting crew based in Garfield County. The crew, including Matthews, was battling the Knowles fire on June 27 in western Colorado when they were caught in a burnover, federal officials said.
A burnover is when a wildfire overtakes firefighters or their equipment, leaving them no time to escape.
The group was trapped by rapidly spreading flames as two wildfires burning in eastern Utah — the Jones and Snyder Mesa fires — merged and consumed the Knowles and Gore fires on Colorado’s Western Slope, together forming the Snyder fire.
As of Saturday, the 30,202-acre Snyder fire remained 98% contained, according to fire officials. The burn area is roughly 47 square miles, larger than the city of Lakewood.
The five firefighters deployed their fire shelters, but three were killed and two were injured, U.S. Forest Service officials said.
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Now, a fourth has died. An update on the fifth firefighter, who has not been publicly identified, was not immediately available on Saturday.
Polis ordered flags to fly at half-staff in Colorado on the day of Matthews’ memorial, the date of which has not yet been announced.
The three firefighters initially killed in the burnover incident were identified as Emily Barker, 38; Nick Hutcherson, 27; and Sydney Watson, 27.
“This is another heartbreaking loss for our wildland fire family,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in a statement. “We mourn the loss of Nate while continuing to grieve the deaths of Emily, Nick and Sydney. Our hearts are with their families, friends, crewmates and everyone impacted by this tragedy.”
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Another firefighter died earlier this month after his helicopter crashed into the Silver Jack Reservoir in southwestern Gunnison County. Nicholas Dale, a 56-year-old fire aviation pilot from Sooke, British Columbia, died while fighting the Gold Mountain fire near Ouray.
The crash remains under investigation.
“And to all the firefighters who continue working day and night to protect our state, you have our immense gratitude,” Polis stated.
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