Nathan Matthews, a 43-year-old firefighter from Lincoln, Nebraska, died Friday from severe burns sustained during a catastrophic wildfire event near the Colorado-Utah border last month, the US Interior Department announced Saturday.
Matthews was among a helitack crew deployed by helicopter into Mesa County, Colorado on June 27 to fight a rapidly expanding fire. The operation turned deadly when flames spread with such speed that all escape routes were cut off, trapping the firefighters in what is known as a burnover.
The crew deployed emergency tent-like shelters in an attempt to protect themselves from the advancing flames, but the effort proved insufficient for three firefighters who died at the scene: Emily Barker, 38; Nick Hutcherson, 27; and Sydney Watson, 26. Matthews and one other firefighter were airlifted for medical treatment, but Matthews did not survive his injuries.
Brian Fennessy, the US wildland fire service chief, called Matthews' death "another heartbreaking loss for our wildland fire family." Barker, Hutcherson, and Watson were honored at a memorial service earlier this month. Plans for Matthews' memorial have not yet been announced.
The fatal burnover highlights the extreme hazards facing firefighters across the western United States this summer as dozens of large fires burn simultaneously. Extended drought, record snowpack deficits in some regions, heat waves, and unpredictable wind patterns have created conditions where fires can spread with devastating speed.
As crews absorbed the news of Matthews' death, they were preparing for potential fire expansion in Oregon, where a blaze near Bend was drawing particular concern due to its location relative to populated areas.
Author James Rodriguez: "A month of pain stretching beyond the initial burnover is a brutal reminder that these fires don't stop killing when the flames die down."
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