A helicopter helping battle a large Utah wildfire crashed on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. The helicopter was one of seven working on a fire in central Utah that was caused by lightning on July 27. The fire had grown to 165 square miles and was 19% contained by Friday.
The FAA confirmed that the helicopter crashed in Richfield, which is about 160 miles south of Salt Lake City. The conditions of the two people who were on board the vehicle were not immediately clear.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA will investigate, but they may not be able to safely reach the scene immediately if the wildfire is burning nearby, AP reports.
Crews battling the fire on Friday faced erratic winds, dry fuels and hot temperatures, as well as the potential for dry thunderstorms and lightning. Red Flag warnings were in effect.
The fire on the Fishlake National Forest near the small community of Kanosh, Utah, had grown to 165 square miles and was 19% contained by Friday morning.
More than 600 firefighting personnel are battling the blaze, which has triggered evacuations and destroyed at least six structures as it burns through timber, brush and grass.
Months of dry weather, a record lack of snow in some areas, hot spells and erratic winds have contributed to blazes in Utah and other parts of the West.
This comes after four firefighters were killed and another was injured in Colorado after they were overcome by a fast-moving wildfire near the Utah border in June.
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