Investigation: Understaffing, unexpected fire behavior led to Colorado firefighter deaths

Unexpected fire behavior, chronic understaffing, a lack of highly trained employees and a new policy to quash fires quickly were among the factors that contributed to the deaths of four helitack firefighters as they battled a blaze in western Colorado in June, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The firefighters, working for the U.S. Forest Service and the newly created U.S. Wildland Fire Service, were part of an interagency response to the Knowles fire that merged with others to form the Snyder Fire on the Colorado-Utah border. The Rifle Helitack crew had been dropped in a remote area to work on a fire line, but became trapped when strong winds blew the fires in their direction and overtook them. Their deaths came after the Trump administration revived a previously discredited policy to stomp out all wildfires quickly.

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