Two crew members were killed when a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane working the Widemouth 2 Fire crashed near Richfield in central Utah, federal aviation officials confirmed. The helicopter, operating under contract with the U.S. Forest Service and Helicopter Transport Services, went down on Friday morning near the Three Creeks Reservoir area southwest of the city while supporting wildfire suppression efforts.
The crash was publicly confirmed on Saturday after incident officials and the National Interagency Fire Center received reports from the scene. Investigators from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were assigned to determine the cause. Access to the site was initially limited by fire activity and conditions, and the wreck also sparked a new fire, complicating response efforts.
The deaths came as Widemouth 2 continued to burn across central Utah, with the fire having already exceeded 100,000 acres and triggered evacuations and closures in the region. The names of the deceased have not been released. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.