TWISP, Wash. (AP) — The deaths of three firefighters who were overrun by flames after their vehicle crashed cast a pall in Washington state on Thursday, with the governor saying the "unprecedented cataclysm" of wildfires has "burned a big hole in our state's heart."
Authorities said they were investigating exactly how the tragedy occurred Wednesday night. It brought to 13 the number of firefighters killed across the West this year during one of the driest and most explosive wildfire seasons on record.
"It was a nightmare last night," Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said. "Everything was burning." He added: "We know it was a firestorm in there."
The deaths happened in the scenic Methow River valley about 115 miles northeast of Seattle, where a series of blazes covering close to 140 square miles had merged. The firefighters' vehicle crashed and was overtaken by flames, authorities said.
Four firefighters who were not in the vehicle but were in the same area were injured, one critically, authorities said.
At a news conference, Gov. Jay Inslee said the wildfires have "burned a big hole in our state's heart."
"These are three big heroes protecting small towns," the governor said, urging residents to "thank a firefighter."
Nearly 29,000 firefighters — 3,000 of them in Washington — are battling some 100 large blazes across the drought- and heat-stricken West, including Idaho, Oregon, Montana and California.
Conditions were expected to deteriorate in Washington on Thursday, with high winds and high temperatures.
"We have a responsibility to stay on focus and stay on task today. That's a good way to honor the fallen firefighters," said fire incident commander Chris Schulte.
The news of the deaths came after officials on Wednesday ordered about 1,300 people in the popular outdoor-recreation communities of Twisp and Winthrop to evacuate.
Jessica Gardetto of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said the 13 dead firefighters this season is a high number, but she could not immediately compare it to other years.
Those killed on Wednesday were identified as U.S. Forest Service firefighters belonging to highly specialized crews that go in immediately to assess a new fire.
Of the injured, two are with the state Department of Natural Resources, one is a department contractor and one is a U.S. Forest Service employee.
One of the injured firefighters, a 25-year-old man from Puyallup, Washington, had burns over 60 percent of his body, authorities said.
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Associated Press writers Ted Warren in Twisp and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report.
2015 The Associated Press
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