Two helicopter pilots have been confirmed dead following a crash while they were engaged in firefighting operations in Utah, officials announced on Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday morning when the Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter they were operating went down while battling the Widemouth 2 Fire within the Fishlake National Forest. According to the Sevier County Sheriff, the crash itself ignited a new fire that subsequently spread and merged with the existing blaze, which has now scorched an area totaling nearly 174 square miles, or approximately 451 square kilometers.
While the identities of the two pilots have not been released, officials stated that they were employees of Helicopter Transport Services, a firm contracted by the U.S. Forest Service to assist in wildfire suppression efforts. Initial attempts to reach the crash site were hampered by the active fire, but by Saturday, emergency crews were able to access the area and confirm the fatalities, according to the Sevier County sheriff and coroner. The National Transportation Safety Board is set to conduct an investigation into the crash once its team can safely examine the wreckage. Officials cautioned that it will likely take the NTSB a year or more to determine the official cause of the accident.
The tragedy in Utah occurred amidst a broader series of wildfires burning across the Western United States. In Washington, the National Park Service has closed access to the Sunrise and White River areas of Mount Rainier National Park after a new wildfire burned less than a third of a square mile, or less than a square kilometer. Firefighters are currently working to gain control of that situation. Meanwhile, larger fires near Spokane, Washington, have now burned more than 15.63 square miles, or over 40 square kilometers, though crews have successfully constructed more than 75 miles, or over 120 kilometers, of containment lines to help manage the flames.
Conditions in Oregon remain severe, where hot and dry weather has fueled an uncontrolled fire that has expanded beyond 30 square miles, or 77.7 square kilometers. Firefighters in that region are currently mourning the death of 47-year-old Jason Ensign, who was killed while operating a bulldozer for a timber company. The blaze grew rapidly on Thursday, cutting off Ensign’s escape route. Crews are now working to identify the best locations to establish containment lines around the Wrights Spring fire. Additionally, north of the border in British Columbia, more than 20,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes due to another fast-moving wildfire.
