A massive wildfire in Utah hindered emergency personnel from accessing the site of a helicopter crash on Saturday. Meanwhile, other blazes across several Western states caused disruptions, including the closure of a section of Mount Rainier National Park.
A Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter crash in Fishlake National Forest on Friday morning instigated a new fire, which merged with an existing blaze. This conjoined fire has now consumed almost 174 square miles (about 451 square kilometers) of land.
On Saturday afternoon, fire officials stated that due to safety concerns, they opted not to risk additional personnel until the fire was better contained. This has prevented them from verifying the condition of the two individuals aboard the helicopter. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the pilot and crew member lost their lives in the crash, though the source of this information wasn’t immediately clarified.
“The crash site is now enveloped within the fire’s perimeter,” reported the fire incident management team on Saturday afternoon.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to investigate the helicopter crash once it is safe to examine the wreckage. Authorities have cautioned the public against speculating or spreading rumors about the accident’s cause. The NTSB’s findings may take a year or more to finalize.
In Washington state, the National Park Service closed down access to the Sunrise and White River areas of Mount Rainier National Park after a new wildfire burned less than a third of a square mile (less than a square kilometer). Firefighters were working to gain control of that fire on Saturday.
The larger fires near Spokane have now burned more than 15.63 square miles (over 40 square kilometers), but firefighters have constructed more than 75 miles (over 120 kilometers) of containment line to help control those flames.
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