Three firefighters were killed and two others injured in a “burnover” incident while battling fast-moving wildfires on the Colorado-Utah border.

Officials said the crew was overwhelmed by flames from the Knowles and Gore fires, which later merged into a larger blaze covering tens of thousands of acres.

The injured firefighters were hospitalized with burns, and authorities are providing support to the victims’ families and colleagues.

State and federal officials, including Colorado’s governor, declared emergencies as additional fires continued to spread across the region, the BBC has reported.

The wider wildfire crisis has been intensified by dry conditions, strong winds, and long-term climate factors contributing to more extreme fire behavior.