Firefighters Honor Fallen Comrades as Blazes Rage

Three fallen firefighters are being honored today after being killed by raging wildfires in Washington state.

Four other firemen were injured and dozens of homes have been destroyed. Nearly 400,000 acres have already burned across the state, forcing thousands from their homes.

"I've just been watching the fire from kind of hopscotching these ridges and working towards our house," homeowner Steve Morse said. "That's why I came back up here... to grab stuff in case it came all the way over the top."

Drought and heat have combined to make this fire season one of the most active in the United States in recent years. Nearly 29,000 firefighters are battling 100 large blazes across the West.

Firefighters and about 300 Washington National Guardsmen have been working round the clock battling the fast-moving flames.

"It's past 10 hours, we're up here. It's hot," guardsman Nathan Knoll said. "I got new boots yesterday, we're breaking them in. I'm getting blisters on my heels."

"Just the way the fire was torching, the way it crawled up the trees, the way it torched, it was really active," guardsman Rory Griffin said.

Near the town of Twisp, Washington, ambulances carrying the bodies of three fallen firefighters received a solemn escort by more than a dozen emergency vehicles. Firefighters along the route held their hands and helmets over their hearts.

The three men were killed Wednesday when their vehicle crashed. They were trapped by harrowing flames.

One official called it a hell-storm due to high winds.

"It hurts deep, but the job goes on," Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., said.

Four others were injured that day, one of them a 25-year-old firefighter fighting for his life with 60 percent of his body covered with burns.

"This was his first season as a firefighter. He's the kind of kid his family is so proud of," his father, Dan Lyon, said.

Meanwhile, fires are also raging across California. National parks have been evacuated east of Oakland. Air tankers are being used to help try to contain the blaze.

In eastern Oregon, a wildfire has destroyed dozens of homes.