Dozens of wildfires are raging across the West, burning homes and National Forest lands and forcing the evacuations of entire towns.
Low humidity, dry vegetation and strong winds are driving the rapid growth and development of new fires throughout the central West.
In southern Colorado, the Aspen Acres Fire ignited Monday morning, and just hours later, had exploded to more than 23,000 acres, prompting evacuations of thousands in two counties.
On Saturday, three firefighters were killed battling a different blaze along the Utah-Colorado border, which would later become the Snyder Fire. They have been identified as Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan; Nick Hutcherson, 27 of Glendale, Arizona; and Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Alabama; according to a release from the US Department of the Interior.
Two additional firefighters were injured during the same incident.
