MESA COUNTY, Colo. — As the deadly Snyder Fire continues to burn on the Colorado-Utah border, Mesa County Search and Rescue volunteers are reflecting on the teamwork that led to the success of a large rescue operation in a popular recreation area.
A total of 120 people — including one bachelorette party — six dogs, and one cat were evacuated from a stretch of the Colorado River in what Mesa County Search and Rescue officials say may be their most complex rescue in recent memory.
▶️ WATCH: Mesa County Search and Rescue Board President Jesse Goryl recounts the incredible rescue
"For this sort of operation to be pulled off in a very short time frame is nothing short of a miracle and really speaks to the high quality of our operations team members and just the collaboration and coordination between all the public safety in Mesa County," Mesa County Search and Rescue Board President Jesse Goryl said.
The 11-hour rescue began Saturday around 4:30 p.m. with a call for a missing teen who had been separated from his group in the Ruby-Horsethief Canyon area.
The teen was quickly accounted for by his family, Goryl said, but as the fire quickly approached the river corridor, the decision was made to evacuate everyone at campsites along the Loma to Westwater section of the Colorado River.
"It was important to get people out of there as soon as possible," Goryl said.
Search and rescue teams first tried to get to campsites on jet boats, navigating extreme wind, thick smoke and a tenuous river.
"It was very, very low water conditions which made the operation that much more difficult," Goryl said. "The Mesa County Sheriff's Office had a boat that was able to get to the camps and at least communicate with them, but could not evacuate that many people on a small jet boat."
That's when a creative solution came into play. Rescue crews got in touch with Union Pacific Railroad, which then provided high-rail trucks that attach to train tracks to drive down into the canyon and get campers and rafters out.
Rafters rowed across the river, and then boarded rail trucks that brought them to Grand Valley Transit Authority buses that took them to safety.
"It was really interesting because [the rail trucks] are one-way directional," Goryl said. "So driving reverse on a railroad for 10 miles was a unique experience."
While conditions varied up and down the river, some of those assisting with the rescue were met with a scary sight, Goryl said.
"The initial trucks into the campsites on the high-rail system were reported seeing flames, like a wall of flames, quickly approaching the campsites," Goryl said. "It was just a tense situation that needed to be done quickly and and it was and was done successfully."
By the time the fire reached the river corridor, all campsites had been successfully evacuated, Goryl said.
The Snyder Fire has burned 30,200 acres as of Tuesday afternoon and took the lives of three federal firefighters during a burnover. event The lightning-caused fire is 0% contained as of publication.
Emergency closures are in place along the Colorado River downstream of Fruita until the Utah state line. Anybody floating the Colorado River must end their trip at the Fruita boat ramp, as there are no river takeout points between Fruita and the Utah state line.
Goryl said this weekend's rescue — and the atypical use of high-rail trucks — is the most complex he's seen in his five years on the volunteer team.
"It's definitely something to consider as things get drier and fire conditions get worse," he said.
See the latest on the Snyder Fire and other wildfires burning in the state here.
