JOES, Colo. — A firefighter with the Joes Fire Department died Tuesday afternoon while responding to a fire in a field in Yuma County.
The fire was sparked from a combine in a corn field by U.S. Highway 36 and County Road T, the fire department said. Volunteer firefighters rushed to the scene to try to contain the fire.
Firefighter Larry Wyant was one of them.
He, along with the others, battled 30 mph winds with gusts up to 60 mph, the fire department said. The wind changed directions often, which made conditions increasingly difficult for the firefighters. Yuma County was under a High Wind Warning until midnight Tuesday due to the strong winds.
The fire department said the running fire's quick change in direction caught Wyant.
While crews arrived to his aid in minutes, it was too late, the department said.
"Our community is a group that comes together in a time of need," it wrote in a Facebook post. "God bless all the volunteer firefighters who came to help stop a fire in such treacherous winds. Prayers are needed for Joes Fire Department at this time. Prayers to Larry Wyant’s family!"
Wyant died on the same day as a funeral for another firefighter in Yuma County. Darcy Stallings died after a crash Thursday evening on Yuma County Road G between County Road 40 and County Road 30. Colorado State Patrol says they believe Stallings was headed to a fire call.
His funeral was Tuesday afternoon.
