Three Firefighters Killed in Colorado Wildfires

Three firefighters were killed and two others injured while battling wildfires along the Colorado-Utah border, the US Wildland Fire Service announced on Sunday.

The firefighters were part of a multi-agency response to the Knowles and Gore blazes, with the largest, the Cottonwood Fire, ballooning to more than 144 square miles after marching through canyons and mountainsides.

Both governors have declared states of emergency, and mandatory evacuation orders have expanded across the region.

The harsh wildfire season has been fueled by prolonged droughts and dry conditions following a warm winter that produced less snow than normal.