A heavy-lift Sikorsky S-64 helicopter with two people aboard crashed while battling a wildfire near Richfield, Utah. Crews could not immediately reach the crash site due to flames. Separately, Oregon’s Wrights Spring Fire killed bulldozer operator Jason Ensign and grew to nearly 14 square miles. Extreme heat, dry conditions and erratic winds are fueling wildfires across the US West.
Richfield: A heavy-lift helicopter with two people on board battling a large Utah wildfire crashed as firefighters worked to corral an uncontained blaze in Oregon that killed a bulldozer operator, officials said Friday.
There was no word on the conditions of the people aboard the helicopter as officials said they couldn't immediately reach the crash site.
During firefighting operations in Oregon, 47-year-old Jason Ensign died Thursday while operating a dozer for a timber company. The Wrights Spring fire escalated with “unexpected and rapid growth” and cut off Ensign's escape route, the local sheriff's department said.
The fire started on Wednesday in south-central Oregon east of the town of Chiloquin. It had burned almost 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) by Friday with no containment, according to the US Forest Service. Extremely hot and dry weather has caused erratic fire behavior, officials said.
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