Aug. 20 (UPI) — The pilot of a helicopter that crashed Wednesday while fighting a wildfire in Fresno County, Calif., has died, authorities said.
Fresno County Fire said the pilot was the only person on board the Bell UH-1H helicopter when it crashed Wednesday morning approximately nine miles south of Coalinga city while on a water-dropping mission on Hills Fire.
Air and ground resources were notified of the crash and responded immediately, it said. The identity of the pilot was not released.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s office said it was requested to assist in the recovery effort at 11:15 a.m., stating the mission is expected to last late into the night.
“Personnel were needed to search this rugged terrain and recover the body of the pilot,” the department said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation.
The Hills Fire, which erupted Saturday evening south of Coalinga, has grown to at least 1,500 acres with 35% contained, Cal Fire said.
Some 150 miles north of the crash site, tens of thousands of acres in the San Francisco Bay area and several other areas in Northern California burned overnight by expanding fires that fire officials blamed on continued lightning and intense heat.
The fires, known collectively as the SCU Lightning Complex fires, grew from 35,000 acres to 85,000 acres from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. The largest fires burned in five different counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Santa Clara and Stanislaus.
Only 5% has been contained by Wednesday evening, officials said.
The wildfires started to threaten Solano County, forcing some residents to flee overnight.
Evacuations orders and warnings have since been issued throughout the counties as the approximately 20 separate fires rage.
Wednesday evening, Cal Fire said its Incident Management Team Six was assisting in treating and evacuating injured residents of the Canyon Zone area.
At least two first responders were injured, it said.
“The fires continue to burn in steep, rugged terrain and are influenced by extreme temperatures and low relative humidity,” Cal Fire said in a statement. “Some of the terrain has little to no fire history with decadent fuels conducive to extreme fire growth.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday as extreme heat fueled the numerous wildfires. Newsom’s order covered all of California in hope of getting help to affected areas faster.
Fire officials said Wednesday morning that 50 structures had been destroyed and 1,900 stood in the way of the blaze so far.
“Last night, we saw a major increase in fire activity throughout both San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, and we saw several of the fires merge together,” Cal Fire Deputy Chief Jonathan Cox said Wednesday morning. “This is a very active timber fire burning in two counties, with a serious threat to both public safety and for structures that are out in front of it.”
State officials said California was receiving assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help fight blazes in Napa, Nevada and Monterey counties.
“We are deploying every resource available to keep communities safe as California battles fires across the state during these extreme conditions,” Newsom said. “California and its federal and local partners are working in lockstep to meet the challenge and remain vigilant in the face of continued dangerous weather conditions.”
