When tragedy strikes, America's wildland firefighters ask, was it 'somebody that we loved?'

When tragedy strikes, America's wildland firefighters ask, was it 'somebody that we loved?' An initial report on the deaths of three wildland firefighters in late June sheds light on the extreme and dangerous conditions they faced. On June 27, members of the Rifle Interagency Helitack Crew spent the morning working on two fires burning in rugged red rock country on the Colorado-Utah border.

They were part of a specialized team that uses helicopters to respond to blazes, often rappelling down to the fireline. Winds gusting beyond 50 miles per hour at times howled over bone-dry fuels itching to ignite. Shortly after 12:30 p.