Fire agencies from the metro Denver area have deployed personnel and equipment to western Colorado to assist with the growing Snyder Mesa fire, which has burned more than 28,000 acres near the Colorado-Utah border.

The fire, sparked by lightning Friday evening, merged with at least two other fires and has expanded rapidly under extreme fire conditions, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Team.

West Metro Fire Rescue on Monday sent two crews of four firefighters to the fire. Brush Engine 9 and its wildland firefighting crew were deployed alongside the agency’s Rapid Extraction Module Support, or REMS, team.

The REMS team consists of firefighters specially trained in both wildland firefighting and technical rescue, officials said. The crews provide emergency medical care and extract injured firefighters from steep, remote or hazardous terrain, often using complex rope systems when traditional rescue methods are not possible.

The deployment comes as the firefighting community mourns the deaths of three firefighters who were killed while responding to a wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border over the weekend. Two other firefighters were injured.

South Metro Fire Rescue also has assigned personnel to support the state’s wildfire response. The agency deployed a structure protection specialist and division supervisor to the Snyder fire in Mesa County as part of the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team.

The firefighter is operating in an overhead vehicle and will provide structure protection or oversee a division based on operational needs, according to the agency.

South Metro also has a Type III or Type VI engine available through the national resource ordering system and is available for assignments within Colorado through Sunday.