Helicopter Fighting Utah Wildfire Crashes, Killing Two

A Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane helicopter crashed on Friday morning while supporting firefighting operations on the Widemouth 2 wildfire near Richfield, Utah, killing the pilot and one crew member, officials said. The aircraft went down at about 10:00 a.m. local time in the Three Creeks Reservoir area as suppression work was underway.

Officials said the helicopter was operated by Helicopter Transport Services under a United States Forest Service contract. The Interagency Fire Center confirmed the two deaths on Saturday, after rescue teams were able to reach the wreckage in steep terrain amid extreme fire conditions.

Rescue response and operational pause after the crash

Officials said the names of the two people who died have not been released because next-of-kin notifications were still pending. The Utah Highway Patrol held a procession to honor the victims, officials said.

Fire managers briefly halted suppression activity after the crash, describing the interruption as a tactical pause, officials said. Officials said the pause was temporary and that firefighting operations later resumed.

Widemouth 2 wildfire conditions in Fishlake National Forest

The helicopter was assisting on the Widemouth 2 fire in Fishlake National Forest, which officials said began on July 27 after a lightning strike. Officials said the fire has burned more than 111,000 acres.

As of Saturday, officials said the blaze was 24 percent contained. They said crews were still encountering extreme fire behavior, describing conditions that continued to pose risks for personnel on the ground and for aircraft supporting suppression efforts.

Second fatal wildfire-related incident in Utah this summer

Officials said the crash is the second fatal wildfire-related incident in Utah this summer. It follows the deaths of four firefighters in June, officials said.

Officials have not provided additional information on what led to the helicopter going down, and no cause was included in the information made public. The absence of publicly released details leaves key questions unanswered as incident operations continue on a large, partially contained fire.