A fourth firefighter has died from injuries sustained when a wildfire near the Utah border suddenly changed directions on June 27.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced that Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Neb. died Friday after being hospitalized since he was caught in the burnover.
“This is another heartbreaking loss for our wildland fire family,” said Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy.
Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Mich.; Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Ariz. and Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Ala. were all killed on June 27.
“We mourn the loss of Nate while continuing to grieve the deaths of Emily, Nick and Sydney. Our hearts are with their family, friends, crewmates and everyone impacted by this tragedy.”
The four were helicoptered into the area in what was then called the Knowles fire, one of several that sprang to life in late June near the Colorado-Utah border. They were eventually named the Snyder fire. Three were killed when their last-resort shelters were not enough to protect them. Matthews and another firefighter, who has not been publicly identified, were injured and airlifted to a Denver hospital.
The three firefighters who died June 27 were honored in a memorial ceremony on July 5. Memorial plans for Matthews will be released at a later date, according to the Interior Department.
The Snyder fire burned more than 28,000 rugged acres before it was declared 100 percent contained in mid-July. Interior is conducting a serious accident investigation to determine what went wrong leading to the firefighter deaths.
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