The bodies of three firefighters were transported by helicopter to a Colorado airport after they died fighting a blaze in the Utah-Colorado border area. Their coworkers, covered in soot, escorted them to the coroner’s office.

After a warm winter, the arid Southwest is witnessing raging fires. Three firefighters were killed, and two were burned, according to a statement from the U.S. Wildland Fire Service. They were battling the Knowles and Gore wildfires.

Multiple agencies have deployed crews to western Colorado, where fires have merged with the Snyder fire, covering 28,000 acres. Over the week, wildfires have scorched the Southwest, including Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. Warmer winters, reduced snowpack, and strong winds are creating dangerous fire conditions.

Federal firefighters in Colorado faced sudden flames, forcing them to seek shelter in smoke and heat, the Department of Interior reported.

A medevac helicopter landed at Grand Junction Regional Airport around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. With strong winds stretching flags to the east, more than a dozen state and local agency firefighters stood by with gurneys on the tarmac.

They observed solemnly as the three bodies, draped in flags, were transferred from the helicopter to the coroner’s vans. To honor their fallen comrades, sooty firefighters drove the vans themselves.