I hereby authorize flags be flown at half-staff within the State Capitol Complex in Montgomery and statewide on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, to honor the service of U.S. Wildland Fire Service Firefighter Sydney Kathryne Watson of Alabama who lost her life along with two of her fellow firefighter crew members while battling a massive wildfire in Western Colorado on June 27, 2026. She was 27.

A native of Corner, Alabama in Jefferson County, Sydney Kathryne Watson was a graduate of Corner High School, the University of Tennessee-Southern, where she played softball, and Martin Methodist College. After obtaining her degree in Wildlife Biology, she pursued several conservation-related internships before settling on a career in wildland fire management. She worked for the North Carolina State Parks Fire Management and the U.S. Forest Service in Prescott National Forest Arizona before being assigned to the newly-formed U.S. Wildland Fire Service. Sydney was part of a Helitack Crew transported into western Colorado to help contain the rapidly moving Knowles Fire in late June when she and her two colleagues lost their lives battling the fire. She was dearly loved by her family, friends and colleagues. All of Alabama joins in mourning her loss and honoring her memory.

I, therefore, authorize all flags may be flown at half-staff throughout the State Capitol Complex in Montgomery throughout the state of Alabama from sunrise until sunset on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, the day of U.S. Wildland Fire Service Firefighter Sydney Kathryne Watson’s interment.