A helicopter concerned in efforts to battle a wildfire in California’s Yosemite Nationwide Park crashed, killing the 2 pilots on board, in keeping with fireplace officers.
The crash occurred Sunday afternoon throughout firefighting operations, in keeping with the Federal Aviation Administration. Two folks had been on board the Eurocopter AS32 helicopter, the company mentioned.
The Dome Hearth is seen in a photograph launched by Yosemite Nationwide Park on Sept. 15, 2026.
Yosemite Nationwide Park
The helicopter was performing a water bucket operation and actively dropping water on the hearth when it crashed southeast of Lake Ostrander in Yosemite, in keeping with Benjamin Cossel, spokesperson for California Complicated Incident Administration Staff 3, which is overseeing the Dome Hearth response.
The stays of the pilots had been efficiently recovered Monday afternoon, Cossel instructed ABC Information. Their names haven’t but been publicly launched.
“That is extraordinarily difficult on all people right here,” Cossel mentioned. “The wildland firefighting world is a particularly small group. Everyone knows one another, and if we do not know one another, it is simply because we have not met one another but. So that is devastating to the wildland firefighting group, and we’re all doing our greatest to get by way of it proper now.”
The personal helicopter was owned by contractor FlyPrecision, in keeping with Cossel.
“It’s with unimaginable disappointment and damaged hearts that we share the lack of two beloved members of our workforce,” FlyPrecision mentioned in a statement on social media on Sunday. “We’re devastated by this loss and are struggling to search out the phrases.”
The FAA and Nationwide Transportation Security Board are investigating the crash. The trigger stays unknown right now, Cossel mentioned.
Smoke from the Dome Hearth is seen in a photograph launched by Yosemite Nationwide Park on Sept. 18, 2026.
Yosemite Nationwide Park
Practically 600 floor and air personnel have been assigned to the Dome Hearth, which is burning within the wilderness northeast of Wawona, park officers mentioned.
The fireplace has burned greater than 3,200 acres since igniting on Sept. 15 and was 15% contained as of noon Monday, fireplace officers said. The terrain is extraordinarily rugged and steep, making it difficult for firefighters to get to, Cossel mentioned.
“The Dome Hearth continued to unfold at a reasonable charge of development,” the Nationwide Park Service said Monday. “Hearth conduct will stay reasonable, with recognizing conduct being an enormous problem within the full suppression efforts of this hearth.”
The reason for the hearth stays below investigation.
Yosemite Nationwide Park stays open, although some trails are closed because of the fireplace.
