MONTGOMERY- Governor Kay Ivey has authorized flags to be flown at half-staff across Alabama on Tuesday, July 7, in honor of U.S. Wildland Fire Service Firefighter Sydney Kathryne Watson.
Watson, a native of Corner in Jefferson County, died June 27 while battling the Knowles Fire in western Colorado. She was 27.
According to the governor’s memo, Watson lost her life along with two fellow firefighter crew members while working to contain the rapidly moving wildfire.
Flags may be flown at half-staff from sunrise until sunset Tuesday throughout the State Capitol Complex in Montgomery and across Alabama.
Watson graduated from Corner High School. She also attended the University of Tennessee-Southern, where she played softball, and Martin Methodist College.
After earning a degree in Wildlife Biology, Watson pursued several conservation-related internships. She later chose a career in wildland fire management.
She worked for North Carolina State Parks Fire Management and the U.S. Forest Service in Prescott National Forest in Arizona before joining the newly formed U.S. Wildland Fire Service.
Governor Ivey said Alabama joins Watson’s family, friends and colleagues in mourning her loss and honoring her memory.
Tuesday’s flag order coincides with the day of Watson’s interment.
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