Firefighting helicopter crashes near Yosemite, killing both pilots

Two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed Sunday afternoon while conducting water drops on a wildfire at Yosemite National Park, officials say.

The pilots were the only people on board and were employed by the contract aircraft company Precision. One of the pilots was Greg King, who used to work for the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection and fought several wildland fires in that state before moving to Precision, said agency spokesperson Emery Johnson.

King’s close relatives work at the agency and gave their permission to release his name, Johnson said. The identity of the second pilot has not yet been released.

At least 14 people have died while helping with wildfires in the U.S. this year, the most since 2022 when 25 deaths were recorded, according to government reports. In August, two helicopter pilots died while helping fight a fire in Utah and a helicopter pilot in Colorado crashed into a reservoir.

Details about the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s crash were not immediately released. It will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Super Puma helicopter had been using a water bucket to help suppress the fire when it went down near a lake, said Benjamin Cossel, a spokesperson with the Federal Complex Incident Management Team overseeing the firefighting response.

The Alaska forestry and fire agency called the deaths a devastating loss for the entire wildland firefighting community.

“Greg was a dedicated aviator and a dear friend to many of us. We are mourning both pilots who bravely supported firefighting efforts, and our hearts go out to their families,” the agency statement said.

Precision wrote on social media that the company was “struggling to find the words.”

“We ask for privacy and compassion for their families and our team as we grieve this tremendous loss,” the statement said.

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Roughly 580 people are fighting the Dome Fire, which started Sept. 15 near Wawona, California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. It’s burning on about 4.7 square miles (12.3 square kilometers) and is about 15% contained.

The crash site was southeast of Ostrander Lake, which is roughly 7 miles (11 kilometers) northeast of Wawona and roughly 9 miles (14 kilometers) south of Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan.

Other firefighters who have died this month include one in Oklahoma who suffered a medical emergency while fighting a wildfire, and another in Oregon who was hit by a tree that broke while he was cutting it in Mt. Hood National Forest.

Also in August, a wildfire officer was killed in Oklahoma after getting trapped while evacuating a burning building in a wildland fire; a firefighter died following a medical emergency during a wildfire in Minnesota; and a bulldozer operator got overrun by flames in Oregon.

In June, four firefighters got trapped in a fire in western Colorado. ___ Associated Press correspondent Matthew Brown contributed from Billings, Montana.