Nebraska wildland firefighter dies after Colorado wildfire burnover
Nathan Matthews died July 24 from injuries sustained in a June 27 burnover during initial-attack operations on the Knowles Fire in western Colorado, federal officials said.
Nathan Matthews, a 43-year-old wildland firefighter from Lincoln, Nebraska, died July 24 from injuries sustained while responding to the Knowles Fire in western Colorado, the U.S. Department of the Interior said.
Matthews was assigned to the Rifle Helitack crew. The June 27 burnover occurred during initial-attack operations, Interior said. A serious-accident investigation was continuing, and the agency did not provide further details about Matthews’ injuries or the sequence of events.
The Knowles Fire incident occurred in Mesa County, according to federal wildfire officials. The Forest Service said three other firefighters died and two were injured. It identified Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson as members of the Rifle Helitack crew but did not name the injured firefighters.