Crews Burn Brush in Effort to Thwart 3,000-Acre Blaze
Firefighting crews were searching out pockets of unburned brush and setting them ablaze Monday to deny fuel to a 3,000-acre wildfire northeast of the city.
The blaze was started by illegal fireworks on the Independence Day weekend. A pilot helping fight it was killed when his helicopter went down Sunday.
The fire was more than half contained Monday afternoon, but it still threatened homes in East Highlands, said Chris Del Ross Risher, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service.
Floyd Dean Hiser Sr., 51, was the only one aboard his helicopter when it crashed Sunday. Federal authorities were trying to determine what caused the accident.
Hiser, flying for Rogers Helicopters of Clovis, had more than 10,000 hours of flight time. He is survived by a wife, a daughter, a son and four grandchildren.
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