June 28 (UPI) — Three firefighters were killed while battling a wildfire in western Colorado, the Department of the Interior announced Sunday.

Two others were being treated for burn injuries sustained in the Saturday “burnover” incident at the Knowles and Gore fires in Mesa County near the Colorado-Utah border, officials in a statement.

The identities of the fallen Wildland Fire Service and Forest Service firefighters were not immediately released pending notifications of their relatives.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was “devastated about the loss of three heroic firefighters who died in the line of duty in Western Colorado.”

In a statement, the he praised “the men and women who serve on the front lines of these fires risk their lives to keep us safe and to protect the lands and communities we love.

“To the loved ones of those lost, and to their fellow crew members — some who are still battling the flames — know that the State of Colorado mourns alongside you.”

Polis said the Colorado National Guard, the federal Bureau of Land Management and local officials and firefighters have been deployed to fight the Snyder-Mesa Fire, which on Sunday was estimated to be more than 28,000 acres, and to recover the bodies of the three fallen firefighters.

The governor said the two surviving firefighters had been extracted by helicopter.

On Saturday he activated the State Emergency Operations Plan and directed the Colorado Department of Public Safety to take responsibility for all response, recovery and mitigation efforts on the Snyder Mesa Fire.

The deaths came as powerful wind gusts, extremely low humidity and the threat of dry lightning fueled an outbreak of large wildfires across the southwestern United States.

Utah has been the hardest hit. Including the deadly blaze along the Colorado border, multiple fires exceeding 10,000 acres have erupted over the past week across the state. The Cherry and Iron Fires southwest of Provo, along with the Cottonwood Fire in south-central Utah, are among the largest active wildfires.

The weather pattern responsible for the heightened wildfire danger is expected to persist through much of the week, forecasters say.