Three firefighters killed, 2 injured in wildfire along Utah-Colorado border

Three firefighters have been killed and two injured while ​responding to the Snyder ‌wildfire burning along the Utah-Colorado border, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service ​said.

Colorado’s governor Jared Polis declared ​a disaster emergency response to ⁠the fire on Saturday, ​authorizing the Colorado National Guard to ​support response efforts.

The wildfire has burned an estimated 28,000 acres, according to ​a statement from the ​Colorado governor’s office, and is at 0% ‌containment.

The ⁠fire began Saturday morning as the Snyder Mesa Fire in eastern Utah’s Grand County before ​spreading ​into Colorado, ⁠where it merged with the smaller Jones ​and Knowles fires in ​Mesa ⁠County to form the Snyder Fire.

Evacuation warnings have been issued ⁠for ​several smaller communities in ​Mesa County, Colorado.

Update

Federal wildland fire officials are releasing the identities of three firefighters who died while responding to the fire in western Colorado on Saturday.

The deceased firefighters have been identified as: 

• Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan, assigned to the U.S. Forest Service Rifle Helitack.
• Nick Hutcherson, 27 of Glendale, Arizona, assigned to the U.S. Forest Service Kaibab National Forest.
• Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Alabama, assigned to the U.S. Wildland Fire Service Rifle Helitack. 

Two additional firefighters were injured during the incident and are receiving medical care.