A firefighting helicopter carrying two people crashed near the Widemouth 2 Fire in central Utah on Friday, and crews could not reach the wreckage because the fire was too active. The crash happened about 10 a.m. near Richfield in the Three Creeks Reservoir area, at the southeastern edge of the wildfire.
The helicopter was part of Great Basin Team 2’s firefighting operation, and the two people on board were still unaccounted for after the crash. By 5 p.m., emergency personnel had still not reached the steep terrain where it went down, and the crash had sparked new flames in a section of the fire that was already difficult to access.
The urgency around the crash was tied to the fire itself. Great Basin Team 2 had assumed command earlier in the week after the Widemouth 2 Fire expanded at the start of the month, and on Friday the response included seven helicopters, 23 engines, nine dozers, nine water tenders and 632 personnel. The southern end of the fire near I-70 was one of the most active parts of the blaze, which helps explain why air support remained in use even after the helicopter went down.
Tyler Hecht said crews hoped to reach the scene within the next 24 hours and described the moment as somber. He also said the priority was getting there safely, but that fire conditions were not allowing that to happen. Even so, he said the work would continue and aircraft would still be used to support firefighters on the ground.
The crash will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. The helicopter was a Sikorsky S-64, also known as a Skycrane. Spencer Cox also called on Utahns to keep the crews in their prayers after saying wildland firefighting is among the most dangerous jobs in the world. The unanswered question now is whether the crew can be reached before the fire shifts again around the crash site.
The danger was underscored by the same summer’s deadly Knowles and Gore fires, where four firefighters died in a burnover incident near the Utah-Colorado border. Three were pronounced dead at the scene in June, and a fourth died in July. For the crews still working the Widemouth 2 Fire, the crash added another painful layer to a day already defined by risk.
