Sam Penrod Reporting
Today firefighters are mourning the death of one of their own. Thirty-three-year-old Spencer Koyle died yesterday while fighting a wildfire in Fishlake National Forest in central Utah.
Koyle's death has left the community in shock. He died trying to save Oak City from a wildfire. The flames turned against him and, sadly, he was not able to escape.
Home video taken by Cathy Schmutz shows the fire flaring up and turning against firefighters yesterday. It shows the flames moving quickly and intensely.
Spencer Koyle, along with a team of about 30 firefighters, was on the ridgeline, building a fire line to keep the flames from burning down the mountain, towards Oak City. Koyle had been in contact with lookouts who were keeping an eye on the blaze. Seconds later, the winds picked up and changed direction. It turned the flames on the firefighters.
Today his team is devastated at his loss.
Susan Marzec, Fire Information Officer: "He spent a good portion of his life working on fire. What I understand is he spent eight years working on fire for the BLM, and he worked before that for Forest Service on fire. For a young man, that's quite a bit. He's got a great deal of fire experience. He knew what he was doing. He was well loved. From what I understand, he even worked with a volunteer fire department."
Koyle was a lifelong resident of Millard County. He had worked for the Fillmore office of the BLM for several years. He is survived by his wife and three children. Family members say he loved his job. He was a division supervisor.
Investigators were traveling to the area Friday to talk to witnesses, said Davida Carnahan, a Forest Service spokeswoman. "All I can say is we lost radio contact with him," she said. "The fire was burning in very rugged and steep terrain. Canyons are always a cause for concern."
Crews were pulled off the fire yesterday after the accident. The fire is still burning and crews are being brought in from out of state to fight it. It's believed the fire was started by lightning. It's burned about 300 acres so far.
On the Net: http://www.blm.gov/nhp/index.htm
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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