3 firefighters killed in Colorado remembered for their bravery as
wildfires churn in the West
[July 06, 2026]
By JESSICA HILL, WUFEI YU and JOHN SEEWER
With wildfires burning across many Western states, wildland firefighters
gathered Sunday to pay tribute to three of their own who died after they
were trapped by flames a week ago.
Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson were remembered as
courageous public servants who left a lasting impact on the communities
where they worked.
“They showed up to make order out of chaos day after day with purpose,
dedication and heart,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy
said during a memorial service in Grand Junction, Colorado, near where
the firefighters died while battling flames on the Colorado-Utah border.
While that fire is now almost entirely contained, nearly 40 large fires
are still going strong across the West. Most of the current fires are
scattered around Colorado, Utah and New Mexico while there are wildfires
in eight other states — from Alaska to Arizona.
Over the holiday weekend, more evacuations in Colorado were ordered
across four counties where the Aspen Acres fire had burned about 136
square miles (352 square kilometers) south of Colorado Springs.
The fire had damaged or destroyed more than 200 structures as of Sunday,
authorities said. National Guard soldiers were sent in Friday to help
with staffing checkpoints on roads near the fire zone.
Months of dry weather and a record lack of snow this past winter in some
places along with erratic winds have been fueling the fires.
The three firefighters killed on June 27 in western Colorado were
members of a Helitack crew that sometimes drops into remote areas by
helicopters.
Barker, Hutcherson and Watson and two others who sustained burn injuries
were overcome by flames from fast-moving fires in Mesa County. They had
deployed emergency protective shelters, which are considered a “last
resort” for firefighters when there is no other way out.
Fennessy, the Wildland Fire Service chief, said Sunday that “the weight
of this tragedy is felt way beyond our wildland fire community.”
Photos of the firefighters were set up on the stage at the memorial
service alongside flowers and flags.
They worked jobs that require courage, selflessness, strength and heart,
said Sarah Fisher, the U.S. Forest Service's deputy chief for fire and
aviation management.
“The work demands long days, heavy burdens and quiet acts of bravery,”
she said. “We will remember them, we will honor their legacy and we will
carry their light forward.”
Emily Barker
Barker, 38, had so much spirit, and the people around her always strived
to be a better person by her presence, said Sarah Brubeck Schnurbusch, a
friend and former roommate.
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The body of a firefighter who died battling wildfires near the
Colorado-Utah border is carried during a procession in Grand
Junction, Colo., Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Barker was from Clinton Township, Michigan, and liked hiking, skiing,
dirt biking and playing hockey. She loved firefighting.
“I’ve never seen someone so excited to go to work,” Brubeck Schnurbusch
said. She added that her friend helped pave the way for many women in
the industry.
Barker was a trailblazer, first working as a teacher “shaping young
lives,” Fennessy said.
“She didn't just live in wild places, she helped to shape them, care for
them and make them better,” he said.
Nick Hutcherson
Hutcherson, 27, served in the U.S. Navy and had plans to become a
physical therapy doctor, according to the Kaibab National Forest in
northern Arizona where he was assigned. He was also an active member of
the Northern Arizona Deaf and American Sign Language community.
Hutcherson, who was from Glendale, Arizona, “embodied the spirit of
public service” Fennessy said.
He was a dedicated practitioner of Muay Thai martial arts who trained in
Flagstaff.
His favorite saying was “easy day,” Fennessy said, “because Nick had an
uncommon ability to face hard things with optimism, humility and a
smile.”
Sydney Watson
Watson, 27, was from Warrior, Alabama, and a graduate of the University
of Tennessee Southern, where she was a pitcher on the softball team, the
university said.
In 2023, she participated in a program in North Carolina organized by
the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges, the group said. In
her application, she said she wanted to see more women on the fire line
and to learn from other women in the field, the university said.
“From the time she was very young, she knew she wanted to be a
firefighter someday,” Fennessy said.
“I have no doubt she inspired many young women to become a firefighter,”
he said.
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