A new report is giving new insight into the Twisp River fire that killed three firefighters during the summer of 2015.
On August 19, 2015, three wildland firefighters got trapped when the wind suddenly shifted and their engine got overrun by flames. Richard Wheeler, Andrew Zajac and Tom Zbyszewski were killed.
The United States Department of Agriculture issued a new report on the incident which details the extreme drought conditions at the time.
The fire was sparked by two tree branches that made contact with a power line, according to the report. When crews first started responding, the fire was two or three acres but it quickly exploded. The report states that one crew lost control of their fire engine when they were surrounded by smoke and flames. A fourth firefighter was badly but was able to escape.