{"id":3290,"date":"2026-08-01T04:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290"},"modified":"2026-08-01T04:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:09:02","slug":"gov-polis-orders-flags-at-half-staff-for-4th-firefighter-to-die-from-western-slope-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><strong>Getting your Trinity Audio player ready&#8230;<\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Gov. Jared Polis ordered that Colorado flags be flown at half staff Friday in honor of Nathan Matthews, a firefighter who died last week from injuries he sustained while responding to fires on the Western Slope.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3288\">Garth Brooks adds two more concerts for Ball Arena after instant sellouts<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Flags will be flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset, Polis\u2019 office said in a statement, in honor of \u201cthe life, bravery, and sacrifice of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service Firefighter who died from injuries that occurred while responding to the Knowles Fire in Mesa County.\u201d Matthews\u2019 funeral procession began Friday morning in Denver and ended in Grand Junction.<\/p>\n<p>Flags in Nebraska, Matthews\u2019 home state, were also lowered to half staff.<\/p>\n<p>Matthews, 43, was injured on June 27 while fighting the Knowles Fire near the Utah border. Three other firefighters \u2014 Emily Barker, Sydney Watson and Nick Hutcherson \u2014 died during the incident. A fifth member of the crew was also injured. The firefighters, part of a helicopter-deployed team, were overtaken by flames. Federal officials said this week that a helicopter had attempted to rescue the crew but was unable to because of the conditions. The crew then attempted to deploy emergency shelters to protect themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3286\">Front Range Passenger Rail board gives green light to plan for Denver-Fort Collins train in 2029<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy thoughts are with Nathan\u2019s family during this difficult time. Our firefighters and first responders put their lives on the line everyday to protect our communities, and keep people safe. Nathan\u2019s heroism will not be forgotten and we are forever in awe of Nathan\u2019s unwavering bravery and sacrifice,\u201d\u00a0 Polis said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3284\">Federal government implements 10-year Colorado River plan after states fail to find deal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gov. Jared Polis ordered that Colorado flags be flown at half staff Friday in honor of Nathan Matthews, a firefighter who died last week from injuries he sustained while responding to fires on the Western Slope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gov. Jared Polis ordered that Colorado flags be flown at half staff Friday in honor of Nathan Matthews, a firefighter who died last week from injuries he sustained while responding to fires on the Western Slope.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-01T04:09:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-01T04:09:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290\"},\"wordCount\":326,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290\",\"name\":\"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-01T04:09:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3290#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"Gov. Jared Polis ordered that Colorado flags be flown at half staff Friday in honor of Nathan Matthews, a firefighter who died last week from injuries he sustained while responding to fires on the Western Slope.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-08-01T04:09:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire","datePublished":"2026-08-01T04:09:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290"},"wordCount":326,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp","articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290","name":"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-01T04:09:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/41a1437ea8ba6b34d04d71b74c28cca9-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3290#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gov. Polis orders flags at half-staff for 4th firefighter to die from Western Slope fire"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}