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SALT LAKE CITY — An Alpine man died Saturday after he was hit by debris dropped from a helicopter in an Iron County area where the Brian Head Fire burned earlier this year.
About 1 p.m., crews were conducting aerial drops of straw mulch over the burn scar left by the Brian Head Fire. The human-cause wildfire burned nearly 71,000 acres in July.
A 58-year-old crew member was on the ground below the drops, calling out locations to drop the mulch when he was struck on the head by falling debris, according to the Iron County Sheriff's Office. The chopper pilot noticed the injured man and contacted another ground crew, which called 911.
The remote area is located just above a Scout camp off of state Route 143.
Brian Head Marshall Jeff Morgan was flown to the site about 1:45 p.m. and determined that the man had died.
"It was determined he likely died as a result of blunt force trauma from falling debris during the airdrop," a statement from the sheriff's office said.
The man's name was not released pending notification of family members.
Iron County Sheriff's Crpl. Dan Raddatz Office said it's unknown if the wind played a factor in the debris hitting the crew member.
Straw mulch dropped on a burn site helps control the effects of erosion after a wildfire, reducing the impact of rain and soil movement. The debris that struck and killed the man may have been straw breaking apart during the airdrop, Raddatz said, or other debris caught in the net carrying the straw to the site.
Since an aircraft was involved in the industrial accident, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
The Iron County Sheriff's Department declined to release the name of the man who died because the NTSB had taken over the investigation.
