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Remembering the Twisp River Fire 10 years later
10 years ago today was the largest wildfire season ever in the state of Washington.
Amongst the fires during that very active wildfire season was the Twisp River Fire.
3,000 firefighters responded to the blaze on August 19, 2015.
The fire doubled in size in just 15 minutes and was one of five major wildfires that spread across half a million acres.
However, three USDA firefighters, Rick Wheeler, Tom Zbyszewski and Andrew Zajak, died while trying to contain the fire.
One of the crew members, Daniel Lyon, was injured during that first call to help with containing the fire.
All four firefighters were on engine 642 that crashed and was eventually covered in flames.
Lyons recalled the accident on the Hit & Miss podcast, saying, "I remember having to crawl. I mean, literally up of probably a 45-degree embankment. That's why my fingers got, my my hands got so much in bad shape that they amputate those fingers because I was literally clawing up the this hillside that there was, you know, on fire."
Lyons was able to escape but had burns over two-thirds of his body.
He was in a coma for weeks.
Ten years later, Lyons is working in law enforcement, married, and living in Wyoming.
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