2 firefighters killed after helicopter crashes near Widemouth 2 Fire

RICHFIELD — A pilot and a crewmember were killed after the helicopter they were riding in crashed near a massive wildfire burning in central Utah on Friday.

The National Interagency Fire Center confirmed the fatalities on Saturday. Their names and ages were not immediately released.

About 10 a.m. Friday, a Sikorsky S-64 helicopter crashed near Richfield, Federal Aviation Administration officials said in a statement. A witness told KSL they saw smoke coming from a site near where a helicopter had flown over Friday morning. Photos from the area showed a plume of smoke above a hill.

Sevier County Sheriff's officials said the crash occurred in the Three Creeks Reservoir area, southwest of Richfield and close to the southeast end of the Widemouth 2 Fire.

Authorities noted that fire conditions had made it difficult to access the scene. Officials said the southern end of the fire, nearing I-70, has been one of the fire's more active sections, while the crash also ignited new flames.

Great Basin Team 2 assumed command of the fire earlier this week, after the fire blossomed in size at the beginning of the month. Seven helicopters were assigned to the fire on Friday, along with 23 engines, nine dozers and nine water tenders among 632 total personnel.

Sikorsky S-64, more commonly known as a Skycrane, is a heavy-lift helicopter model commonly used for firefighting operations with a bucket or fixed tank configurations, according to Siller Helicopters. It's unclear what caused the crash, which will be investigated by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board.

Tyler Hecht, deputy incident commander for the Great Basin Incident Management Team 2, whose voice appeared to crack at times as he spoke on Friday, said the mood has been "somber" since the crash. Firefighters took a pause afterward, but then returned to work knowing the threats facing the communities and I-70 in the area.

"It's not going to change how we operate," he added. "We're going to continue to fight fire and utilize aircraft to support our firefighters on the ground."

Gov. Spencer Cox asked Utahns to keep the crews in their prayers in a post to social media.

The incident comes during the same summer that four firefighters died, and another was injured during a burnover incident while they battled the Knowles and Gore fires near the Utah-Colorado border in June. Three were pronounced dead at the scene while a fourth person died in July, weeks after the incident.

"Wildland firefighting is among the most dangerous jobs in the world. Today is a painful reminder of the extraordinary risks these brave men and women accept to protect us," Cox wrote.

The Widemouth 2 Fire started by a lightning strike within Fishlake National Forest near Kanosh, Millard County on July 27, but it spiked over the past week, as hot, dry and sometimes windy conditions returned to the region.

It has now burned 114,685 acres, surpassing the Babylon Fire as the state's largest fire this year.

Contributing: Becky Bruce

This story will be updated. To be notified about updates, please click Follow This Story below on the KSL app.

Related topics