Nick Smith

The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

(TNS)

A fourth firefighter died Friday of burns sustained in the Knowles fire along the Utah- Colorado state line, the Department of the Interior announced Saturday.

Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Neb., was one of five firefighters involved in a burnover while fighting the blaze on June 27.

Three other firefighters — Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Mich.; Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Ariz.; and Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Ala. — died in the blaze.

A team of investigators is looking into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Officials did not give an update on the condition of the fifth firefighter injured that day.

“This is another heartbreaking loss for our wildland fire family,” Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said in a release. “We remain committed to supporting those affected and honoring the legacy of all four firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

In a separate statement, Gov. Jared Polis said: “I’m so saddened by the loss of Nathan Matthews. His bravery, and the bravery of his colleagues, is the reason that so many of our homes, communities and lands have been protected from the fires over the course of this season.”

Polis ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff when Matthews is buried, though a funeral date has yet to be announced.

The Knowles fire was among several wildfires that started around June 26 in eastern Utah and western Colorado. All of them merged into what is now known as the Snyder fire, which burned 30,202 acres and is fully contained.

Matthews is the fifth firefighter to die while battling wildfires in Colorado this year. Pilot Nicholas Dale died when his helicopter went down in Silver Jack Reservoir while fighting the Gold Mountain fire in southwest Colorado on July 12. Dale, 56, was from Sooke, British Columbia.

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