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Officials release timeline of events in firefighter deaths

Fire officials say changing weather conditions contributed to the deaths of three firefighters near Twisp.
Tom Zbyszewski, 20, Andrew Zajac, 26, and Richard Wheeler, 31

Complicated and changing weather conditions have made this fire dangerous and hard to fight and fire officials say it was those conditions that contributed to the deaths of three firefighters near Twisp.

They released a new timeline of events late Sunday afternoon.

Speaking in somber and subdued tones, John Phipps, who's leading the investigation into Wednesday's tragedy, described a chaotic scene.

"Everyone in that event was doing the best they could and if you have been in one of those environments it's a challenge," he said.

The Twisp River Fire reported around 12:30 and by about 3 p.m. it was showing increased activity amid shifting winds.

Just one hour later, firefighters were reporting fatalities and calling for a Life Flight helicopter.

That's all it took - one hour for the winds to shift 180 degrees and consume the three firefighters trying to escape in a small forest service engine.

Three firefighters inside the engine - Andrew Zajac, Richard Wheeler and Tom Zbyszewski - were killed.

A fourth person, Daniel Lyon, survived with burns to more than half his body.

Still in critical condition at Harborview, investigators believe he holds the only keys to solving the mystery about what exactly went wrong.

"I'd just say that there were no witnesses to the event of the truck leaving the road except Daniel, who is not able to talk to us for quite some time," said Phipps.

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