(WWJ) A firefighter from Macomb County is among the three who died while fighting a wildfire in Colorado over the weekend.
The U.S. Forest Service said 38-year old Emily Barker of Clinton Township, Michigan, and two others from Arizona and Alabama were killed when they were overcome Saturday by flames after deploying emergency shelters to shield themselves from fast-moving fires.
They were assigned to a Helitack crew that can be dropped into remote areas by helicopters and whose mission is to prevent new fires from growing into out-of-control blazes, according to the Associates Press.
The missions can be extremely dangerous, often taking place in areas where fires are rapidly expanding.
Along with Barker, the Forest Service identified the firefighters killed as 27-year-old Nick Hutcherson, of Glendale, Arizona; and 26-year-old Sydney Watson, of Warrior, Alabama.
Wildfires have erupted over the past week across the West, fueled by months of dry weather.
MORE: 3 firefighters killed in Colorado as wildfires stoked by heat, wind rage across the West
