Three Die Battling Wildfires: Utah Helicopter Crash, Dozer Operator in Oregon
Officials said that three responders have died while battling two fires fire Oregon and Utah.
"The wildland fire community mourns three of its own today following fatalities in the field," the National Interagency Fire Center posted in their Saturday morning brief.
A dozer operator suffered fatal injuries Thursday while working the Wrights Spring fire near Chiloquin, OR.
According to KGW.com, Jason Ensign, 47, of Klamath Falls, OR, died when fire overtook the area near his bulldozer.
He was employed by Washington-based Green Diamond Timber Resource Company.
Officials said a dozer was determined to be unaccounted for Thursday afternoon, after crews encountered "unexpected and rapid growth" in fire conditions.
Crews found Ensign in the dozer, which they report was "extensively damaged."
The Widemouth 2 fire has consumed over 106,000 acres while nearly 8,000 acres have been burned at the Wrights Spring fire.
Friday afternoon, a helicopter crashed in the vicinity of Kanosh, UT, while the crew was operating at the Widemouth 2 fire.
Officials said the pilot and crew member were flying a helicopter that was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service.
In Saturday's update, officials said nearly 30,000 personnel are currently assigned to 97 large fires. Those resources include 1,856 engines, 204 helicopters and 661 crews. Twenty-seven incident management teams have been deployed to manage the incidents.
As of this morning, the National Interagency Fire Center reports that 6,266,601 acres have burned from 45,659 nationwide so far this year.
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Peter Matthews
Editor-in-Chief
Peter Matthews is the editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood Landing, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.