Three firefighters are dead. The Colorado-Uta wildfire, already the largest in the region's history, has claimed its first British casualties. The news broke in a Downing Street pool briefing just after 10pm.
A sombre Number 10 confirmed the deaths, offering 'thoughts and prayers' – but behind the scenes, the reaction was raw anger. Sources close to the Fire Brigades Union tell me the equipment sent last week was 'wholly inadequate' for the terrain. The specialist gear arrived only after a furious phone call between the Home Secretary and the US Interior Secretary.
The political fallout is already being felt. Labour's shadow home secretary has called for an urgent statement in the Commons. The PM is due to fly out to the region tomorrow, a trip hastily arranged after the death toll became clear.
The optics are terrible. No.10 knows it.
Inside the Lobby, the question is: who signed off on the original deployment? The Defence Secretary is being briefed against. I hear mutterings of a 'tin-eared' operation.
The families of the fallen firefighters will be brought home within 48 hours. The military is on standby. But for the political class, the blame game has already begun.
