Vail Women’s Hockey Star Emily Barker Dies Fighting Snyder Fire

“‘We play on a hockey team, do you want to come and check it out?’”

That was Sarah Brubeck’s pitch to Emily Barker in 2014. Barker was moving into Eagle County from Summit County. She had a hockey bag. She said yes. It became her second family.

Barker, 38, died Friday fighting the Snyder Fire on the Colorado-Utah border. The Vail area women’s hockey community is reeling. The Downvalley Divas defender was one of the league’s best.

The short version: She was a wildland firefighter who died in the line of duty. But that doesn’t capture the scale of the loss for locals who know her. She wasn’t just a player. She was the glue.

Barker’s career was a study in dual commitments. By day, she worked in snowmaking at Vail Resorts. She rose to become the resort’s first female crew leader in snowmaking. By summer, she was a BLM engine captain stationed out of Dubois, Idaho.

Team captain Erin Jarvis watched Barker juggle it all. Hockey season starts in October. Often, Barker was still on active fire duty during the first few games. She didn’t quit. She didn’t ask for time off. She figured it out. She drove in from Idaho just in time for the first game.

“I don’t know how she would manage her schedule,” Jarvis said.

Barker moved to Colorado from Michigan. She studied ski area management, snow science, and fire science in college. She didn’t just find a job in snowmaking. She built a career. Then she pivoted to the fire line.

Friends remember a subtle confidence. Brubeck, who moved in with Barker when she first arrived, said Barker looked out for people. She knew what they needed. That leadership style translated directly to the ice.

Kat Ruark, a fellow defender, knew Barker from a tournament in Nevada. Ruark was put on the defense line with Barker that weekend. She called her her “favorite defensive partner of all time.” When Ruark moved back to Eagle County, she joined the team Barker was already on. They played together for years.

The Downvalley Divas are one of several women’s teams in Eagle County. The region has a robust hockey community. Barker was central to it. She was 38. She had been here for about a decade.

The team shared tears and laughs this week. They remembered a decade of hockey. They remembered the snowmobiling and dirt biking. They remembered the early morning drives from Idaho.

Barker’s death leaves a hole in the roster and in the community. The Snyder Fire took her. The hockey world is left to fill the gap.

Read that again. She drove from Idaho for the first game. Every year. While working full-time snowmaking and fighting fires. That’s not a hobby. That’s a commitment.

The Vail Daily reports the community is mourning. The facts are clear. Barker was a leader. She was a defender. She was gone.