Two pilots of firefighting helicopter that crashed in Utah are dead, officials say
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- Two helicopter pilots who crashed while they were fighting a wildfire in Utah are dead, officials confirmed Saturday.
- The crash sparked a new blaze that merged with an existing fire, charring nearly 174 square miles of Fishlake National Forest.
- Fast-moving wildfires are straining firefighting crews across the Pacific Northwest, from Washington and Oregon to British Columbia.
Two helicopter pilots who crashed while they were fighting a wildfire in Utah are dead, officials confirmed Saturday.
The pilots were killed when their Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter went down Friday morning, according to the Sevier County sheriff.
The helicopter was among those fighting a fire in the Fishlake National Forest. The crash ignited a new fire that spread to connect with the existing blaze, which has now scorched nearly 174 square miles.
Officials did not identify the pilots but said they were employed by Helicopter Transport Services, which was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service.
Initially officials said they were unable to reach the crash site because of the fire. Then, later on Saturday, crews were able to enter the area and confirmed the deaths, according to the Sevier County sheriff and coroner.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate once its team can examine the wreckage. It will probably take the NTSB a year or more to determine the cause.
Numerous fires also were burning in other parts of the West, including one that closed part of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
The National Park Service shut down access to the Sunrise and White River areas of the park after a new wildfire burned less than a third of a square mile. Firefighters were working to gain control of it.
The larger fires in the east of the state near Spokane have now burned more than 15.63 square miles, but firefighters constructed more than 75 miles of containment line to help control those flames.
Meanwhile in Oregon, hot and dry conditions helped an uncontrolled fire spread beyond 30 square miles.
Firefighters were still trying to identify the best places to set up containment lines around the Wrights Spring fire as they mourned the death of 47-year-old Jason Ensign, who was killed while operating a bulldozer for a timber company. The blaze grew rapidly Thursday and cut off Ensign’s escape route.
And north of the border in British Columbia, more than 20,000 people had to evacuate ahead of another fast-moving wildfire. The provincial premier has declared a state of emergency.
Funk writes for the Associated Press.
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