Why It Matters
A rapid wildfire expansion near Colorado’s Colorado River forced rescue teams to coordinate an unprecedented emergency evacuation of over 120 people in a single night, testing the state’s ability to mobilize multiple agencies and private partners under extreme time pressure.
What Happened
On June 27, the Snyder fire near Ruby-Horsethief Canyon threatened campers who had floated down the Colorado River. A group led by Caleb Weinberg was among those in the area when Mesa County sheriff’s deputies arrived to warn of the approaching flames and suggested campers relocate across the river toward railroad tracks.
Weinberg reported that someone told the group “the fire was growing by 5,000 acres an hour.” Within hours, the Snyder fire had expanded to cover 28,000 acres, creating an urgent situation for all campers in the canyon.
Mesa County Search and Rescue volunteers arrived around 1 a.m. and coordinated what became the county’s largest-ever evacuation operation. Rather than rely solely on motorboats—which would have required ferrying campers 15 miles or more downstream to Westwater Ranger Station—rescuers employed Union Pacific hi-rail trucks, specialized vehicles with both flanged steel wheels for railroad tracks and rubber tires for highway travel.
Nine Union Pacific workers assisted in loading and transporting evacuees. A total of 123 campers and six dogs were moved to safety via the hi-rail trucks, which transported them to the Loma put-in, a firehouse in Fruita for overnight shelter, or to Westwater Ranger Station.
The evacuation proved timely. A campground downstream from the evacuation site burned that same night. Molly Bethe, a Mesa County Search and Rescue volunteer who participated in the mission, said, “This was the biggest mass evacuation we have had in recent history.”
By the Numbers
123 — campers evacuated
6 — dogs evacuated
28,000 acres — size of Snyder fire on June 27
5,000 acres per hour — fire growth rate reported to evacuees
5 hours — estimated time saved by using hi-rail trucks instead of motorboats
12 hours — duration of the evacuation operation
9 — Union Pacific workers who assisted
Zoom Out
Western Colorado has faced intense wildfire activity in recent years, with multiple large fires stretching rescue and emergency-response resources. The Snyder fire evacuation highlights how rapid fire expansion—particularly in canyon terrain where escape routes are limited—can force coordinated multi-agency responses within narrow time windows. The involvement of Union Pacific workers and hi-rail equipment underscores how emergency managers must leverage private-sector partnerships and specialized infrastructure to execute large-scale evacuations when conventional methods would be too slow.
Other recent Colorado evacuations have similarly tested county and state emergency systems, as multiple large fires have expanded across western portions of the state.
What’s Next
The Snyder fire continues under active suppression. Mesa County and state agencies are likely to review the evacuation protocol and hi-rail truck partnership as a model for future rapid-response operations in canyon areas where road access is constrained. The successful coordination among Search and Rescue, Bureau of Land Management rangers, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials, sheriff’s deputies, and Grand Valley Transit suggests a framework that could be refined for similar situations.