A helicopter assigned to fight a major wildfire in Utah went down Friday, federal officials said, with the condition of the two people on board not immediately known.
The aircraft was among seven helicopters supporting crews on a central Utah fire sparked by lightning on July 27. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash occurred in Richfield, roughly 160 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Authorities in Sevier and Millard counties did not immediately answer requests for information about the crash. The FAA and wildfire officials also said they did not yet have details on the status of the two occupants.
The U.S. Forest Service at Fishlake National Forest said in a post on social media that emergency responders had reached the area.
“Our top priority is responding to the incident. Local, state, and federal authorities are assisting in the response,” the agency said. “Information will be released as soon as it is available. Please be patient as the response to this incident continues to occur and safety actions are prioritized first.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are expected to investigate the helicopter crash, though officials may face delays accessing the site if active fire conditions make the area unsafe.
According to the NTSB, early information indicates that “the helicopter crashed in remote terrain under unknown circumstances during firefighting operations.” The board said investigators were expected to arrive in Richfield by Saturday night.
The crash came as fire crews faced dangerous weather conditions. On Friday morning, firefighters were cautioned about shifting winds, dry vegetation and high temperatures, along with the threat of dry thunderstorms and lightning. Red flag warnings were also in effect.
The fire on the Fishlake National Forest near the small community of Kanosh, Utah, had grown to 165 square miles and was 19% contained by Friday morning. More than 600 firefighting personnel are battling the blaze, which has triggered evacuations and destroyed at least six structures as it burns through timber, brush and grass.
As of Friday, there are eight large active blazes burning across more than 331,000 acres in Utah, according to the state’s wildfire dashboard.
Months of dry weather, a record lack of snow in some areas, hot spells and erratic winds have contributed to blazes in Utah and other parts of the West.
Four firefighters were killed and a fifth was injured after they were overcome by a fast-moving wildfire in Colorado in June. The firefighters tried to shield themselves by deploying tentlike emergency shelters as flames overran their position.
