Two crew members have been confirmed dead after a firefighting helicopter crashed while battling the Widemouth 2 wildfire in central Utah.
The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane,operated by Helicopter Transport Services under contract with the United States Forest Service,went down at about 10am local time on Friday near Richfield,in the Three Creeks Reservoir area southwest of the city.
The National Interagency Fire Center confirmed the deaths on Saturday,saying the two crew members were “fatally injured” and extending condolences to their friends and families.
Authorities initially could not reach the crash site because extreme fire conditions and steep terrain made access unsafe. Crews reached the wreckage on Saturday and recovered the bodies.
The identities of those killed have not been released.
The crash also ignited another fire that spread into the existing Widemouth 2 blaze,according to state authorities. The accident site is now within the fire perimeter.
“Ground resources attempted to respond immediately,but access to the scene was compromised by the emergent fire,” the US Forest Service said.
“Without a safety zone,the Incident Management Team determined not to place lives at risk until the area is deemed safe.”
Deputy incident commander Tyler Hecht said firefighters briefly took a “tactical pause” after the crash before resuming operations.
“It’s not going to change how we operate,” Hecht said. “We’re going to continue to fight fire and utilize aircraft to support our firefighters on the ground.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox described wildland firefighting as “among the most dangerous jobs in the world” and asked residents to keep the crew in their prayers.
The Utah Highway Patrol organised a procession on Saturday evening to escort the remains of the deceased.
The Widemouth 2 fire began after a lightning strike in Fishlake National Forest on July 27 and had burned more than 114,600 acres,or about 46,400 hectares,by Saturday.
Officials reported the fire was 24% contained,with extreme behaviour including crowning and long-range spotting continuing to threaten nearby communities. Evacuations and road closures have also been imposed in affected areas.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were travelling to Richfield to investigate the crash. Once able to access the site,they are expected to document the wreckage and recover the aircraft.
Determining the cause of the crash could take a year or longer.
The incident is Utah’s second fatal wildfire-related event this summer. Three firefighters died in June while battling fires near the Colorado border,and a fourth later died from injuries sustained during the response.
