Memorial service to honor firefighters killed on Colorado-Utah border

Three firefighters who were killed battling flames on the Colorado-Utah border are being remembered as brave heroes who were trailblazers in their industries.

Wildfires have spread across the West fueled by months of dry weather and a record lack of snow, forcing residents from their homes as crews work to tamp down the flames.

Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson were killed Saturday, June 27, and two others sustained burn injuries when they were overcome by flames from fast-moving fires in Mesa County. They deployed emergency protective shelters, which are considered a “last resort” for firefighters when there is no other way out.

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.

Their deaths came almost 13 years to the day since an elite crew of 19 wildland firefighters died when they were trapped in a steep canyon in Yarnell, Arizona.

A memorial service will be held for the three firefighters at 11 a.m. Sunday at Las Colonias Park Amphitheater in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Barker, 38, had so much spirit, and the people around her always strived to be a better person by her presence, said Sarah Brubeck Schnurbusch, a friend and former roommate.

Barker was from Clinton, Michigan, and liked hiking, skiing, dirt biking and playing hockey. She loved firefighting.

“I’ve never seen someone so excited to go to work,” Brubeck Schnurbusch said. She added that her friend was an expert who helped pave the way for many women in the industry.

She said she is hopeful that Barker’s death opens people’s eyes to the hard work firefighters are putting in day in and day out.

“I just hope that Emily knows the impact that she left on everybody else, and how many people really truly love her,” she said.

Hutcherson, 27, served in the U.S. Navy and had plans to become a physical therapy doctor, according to the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona where he was assigned. He was also an active member of the Northern Arizona Deaf and American Sign Language community and was a dedicated Muay Thai practitioner who trained at Southside Combat Academy in Flagstaff.

Hutcherson was from Glendale, Arizona.

The Kaibab National Forest said it is heartbroken over his death. Hutcherson exemplified the agency's commitment to serving the public and the courage wildland firefighters bring to the job, it said.

The combat academy described Hutcherson as a warrior and said it is forever grateful to have known him and to have fought alongside him.

“We lost a good one,” read a social media post. “If you met Nick, you loved Nick. He was such a gentle and genuine soul. We are still in disbelief.”

Watson, 27, was from Warrior, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Tennessee Southern, according to the university.

A former pitcher on the softball team and “a quiet, composed leader,” Watson was assigned to the U.S. Wildland Fire Service Rifle Helitack crew, the university said in a statement.

In 2023, Watson participated in a program in North Carolina organized by the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges, the collaborative group wrote in a statement.

In her application for the program, she said she wanted to see more women on the fire line and to work with and learn from other women in the fire industry, the statement said.

“It’s hard for people outside of the firefighting world to understand why we do what we do. We do it because we love it. Sydney loved it,” the group wrote.

The body of a firefighter who died battling wildfires near the Colorado-Utah border is carried during a procession in Grand Junction, Colo., Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A burned section of the Snyder Fire seen from across the Colorado River in Mack, Colorado, on Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

A woman salutes during a procession for firefighters who died battling wildfires near the Colorado-Utah border in Grand Junction, Colo., Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A first responder adjusts an American flag during a procession in Grand Junction, Colo., Monday, June 29, 2026, for firefighters who died battling blazes near the Colorado-Utah border. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The lawyer for a prominent Palestinian doctor who was seized by Israeli forces 18 months ago said his client has been abused in captivity and is in critical condition, according to the human rights group representing him.

Hussam Abu Safiya who served as director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became the face of health workers struggling to treat patients throughout the Israel-Hamas war.

He led the facility through an 85-day siege by the Israeli military, releasing videos in which he pleaded for help before he was arrested in December 2024. He has not been charged.

The Israeli military said Abu Safiya, 53, was being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas. Staff and international aid groups that worked with him deny the claims.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Abu Safiya’s lawyer, Nasser Odeh, said Abu Safiya appeared extremely weak and struggled to sit upright during a visit on July 2. Odeh said he had recent head injuries around his eyes, ears and neck and experienced difficulty breathing.

Odeh and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said they have petitioned to have Abu Safiya transferred to another facility.

Abu Safiya faced physical and psychological abuse and was kept in solitary confinement for extended periods, Odeh said following an appearance before Israel’s Supreme Court last month challenging his continued detainment without charge.

Abu Safiya appeared briefly by video during that hearing, looking pale and gaunt and with lash-like marks on both arms.

Israel’s Prison Service called the allegations “false and entirely without factual basis.” The prison service declined to discuss the case directly, citing privacy concerns, but said all prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law and receive medical care based on Ministry of Health guidelines.

“The Israel Prison Service rejects allegations of abuse, torture, starvation, or denial of medical treatment,” the prison service said.

Israel has faced severe criticism over its treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees since the start of its war with Hamas in October 2023. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have alleged systematic patterns of abuse.

The number of Palestinians in Israeli detention surged after the start of the war and thousands remain in detention. The Associated Press has previously reported on the dire conditions in prisons.

The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, after the Gaza-based militant group led an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. Since then, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

FILE - A woman holds a sign that reads "Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Free Gaza" during a protest in front of the Shin Bet offices, calling for his release, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)