Two helicopter pilots who crashed while they were fighting a wildfire in Utah are dead, officials confirmed Saturday.
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The pilots were killed when their Sikorsky Skycrane went down Friday morning, according to the Sevier County Sheriff.
The helicopter was one of seven choppers assigned to combat the massive Fishlake National Forest fire. The crash sparked a new fire that spread to connect with the existing blaze. Ground crews tried to reach the area of the downed craft, but fire conditions prevented their safe access.
Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis held a press conference on Sunday once the remains of the two victims were retrieved.
"We could see two different plumes of smoke. One from the crash site and one from an active fire coming toward us," Curtis told reporters.
Curtis said that a rescue crew tried to reach the fallen aircraft, but was restricted by the blaze.
Utah Wildfire Has Destroyed Over 100,000 Acres
"As responders were in the area, they were trying to get in there. There were hand crews that were there. They were going in on foot, and search and rescue got there as well. But in the meantime, in about 30 to 40 minutes of us arriving on scene, that column of fire had worked its way in towards us," Curtis said.
Due to the severity of the flames, firefighters were temporarily ordered to cease rescue attempts.
Curtis stated that it was "not an easy decision" to pull firefighters from the rescue mission, but said that more lives may have been lost if they didn't retreat.
"It was not an easy choice to move those responders," Curtis said. "But thanks to good safety measures and people who were on the ground right there, they were able to determine that if we had not gone that way, we'd have lost more lives."
He added, "So we're grateful for those guys that were willing to do that. But also we're grateful we didn't lose any more."
The confirmation of the deaths of the two firefighters, who have yet to be publicly named, followed "a treacherous, high-elevation operation," officials said.
The massive fire in the Fishlake National Forest is believed to have started on July 27 after a lightning strike, which led to the destruction of 100,000 acres, the New York Times reported.
