Thousands of firefighters have spent their summer working to contain the largest fire in Washington history. Now, as the fire season winds down, investigators are tasked with determining what killed three firefighters who were trying to put out the flames.
Tom Zbyszewski, Andrew Zajac and Richard Wheeler died August 19. They were involved in the initial attack on the fire in the Twisp River area when their vehicle went down an embankment and was overcome by flames.
The U.S. Forest Service, for whom all the firefighters worked, is investigating the incident. Investigators have interviewed everyone except Daniel Lyon, the surviving firefighter who was burned over half his body.
Lyon is recovering at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and his account of what happened could answer a lot of questions about what happened.
From their interviews, investigators will develop a narrative and compare it against the evidence left behind.
A spokesperson did not give a specific date, but said the report should be done in the coming months.