WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement on the Department of the Interior (DOI) investigation into the Knowles Fire burnover incident that led to the deaths of four Colorado firefighters – Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, Sydney Watson, and Nathan Matthews – and severely injured a fifth firefighter.
“Four firefighters died in the Knowles Fire burnover, and a fifth remains severely injured. Their families have waited to learn why. Our thoughts are with them today.
“We asked one question: why were these firefighters deployed into conditions this extreme? While we appreciate DOI’s work to make these findings public, the report doesn’t give us satisfying answers.
“Faster, hotter wildfires are our new normal. We need to adequately staff our wildfire response teams and question whether DOI’s full suppression strategy is the right policy. Our team will review the report with DOI and push for the answers we need to protect Colorado’s firefighters.”
Hickenlooper led the push for a federal investigation into the Knowles Fire. In July, he took to the Senate floor to call for a comprehensive federal investigation. In August, he sent a letter to the Trump administration pushing for the investigation. In October, he joined Senators Mark Kelly, Ruben Gallego, and Gary Peters to push DOI to examine whether staffing shortages and their “full suppression” strategy put the firefighters at increased risk.
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