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

A captain with the Clifton Fire Protection District salutes the passing procession carrying the bodies of three firefighters killed while fighting the Snyder Fire in Grand Junction, Colo., on June 28. Gretel Daugherty via AP hide caption 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.

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