Crash of an Aircraft Helping to Fight a Colorado Wildfire Leaves the Pilot Dead
More than 1,000 personnel were fighting the blaze as investigators probed the crash, and the pilot’s body was later recovered from the reservoir.
- On Sunday at 5:17 p.m., an aircraft assisting with firefighting operations crashed into Silver Jack Reservoir in southwestern Gunnison County, killing the pilot.
- The pilot was battling the Gold Mountain Fire, which has burned 35,622 acres in southwestern Colorado over the past two weeks and remains 13% contained as of Monday.
- Montrose County Sheriff's Office dive teams recovered the pilot's body from the reservoir late Sunday night, according to Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie.
- Identity of the pilot remains withheld until next-of-kin are notified, Murdie stated, while officials have not yet confirmed if the aircraft was a plane or helicopter.
- The crash follows recent deaths of three wildland firefighters near the Colorado-Utah border, as more than 1,000 personnel continue fighting the fire.
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Vancouver Island Free Daily
Sooke News MirrorSooke pilot dies in helicopter crash while battling Colorado wildfire
A veteran firefighting pilot from Sooke has died after the helicopter he was flying crashed into a Colorado reservoir while battling a wildfire. The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as Nicholas Dale, 56, of Sooke. Dale was flying a Kaman K-1200 K-MAX helicopter conducting aerial suppression work on the Gold Mountain Fire when it crashed into Silver Jack Reservoir shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, July 12. Dale was the aircraft’s …
Sooke pilot killed in Colorado helicopter crash while battling wildfire
A veteran firefighting pilot from Sooke has died after the helicopter he was flying crashed into a Colorado reservoir while battling a wildfire. The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday that Nicholas Dale, 56, of Sooke, was killed when his Kaman K-1200 K-MAX helicopter crashed into Silver Jack Reservoir at 5:17 p.m. July 12. Dale was the lone occupant of the aircraft and was conducting wildfire suppression operations on the Gold Mou…
OURAY, Colo. (KTLO)-- The Gold Mountain Fire, which is burning near Ouray, Colorado, tragically became deadly this weekend. The Gunnison County Sheriff's Department stated that they received a call about a helicopter that was on Silver Jack Reservoir. When firefighters and paramedics arrived on the scene, they found the helicopter and the rescue team from Montrose. The post Sinister “Gold Mountain Fire” Becomes One of the Deadliest Fires in Col…
Helicopter pilot dies fighting Colorado wildfires
A pilot died on Sunday when his helicopter crashed as he fought wildfires in Colorado, according to local authorities. The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) said on Facebook the pilot, 56-year-old Nicholas Dale, died after his K-MAX helicopter, manufactured by Kaman Aircraft, crashed into Silver Jack Reservoir at roughly 5:17 p.m. MDT. The reservoir is...
The pilot died after the plane used to fight the Gold Mountain fire crashed into the Silver Jack reservoir.
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