Yosemite, CA — CAL Fire reports the pilot on board an air tanker that crashed while fighting the Dog Rock Fire near Yosemite has died.
Emergency personnel were able to access the crash site this evening. The CAL Fire air tanker 81 was based out of the Hollister Air Attack base. The family has requested that the pilot’s name be withheld until all family members can be notified.
“This crash underscores just how inherently dangerous wild land firefighting is, and the job is further compounded this year by the extreme fire conditions,” says CAL Fire Chief Ken Pimlott. “We have secured the crash site and will be cooperating with the NTSB on their investigation.”
It is unclear what caused the crash.
CAL Fire operates 22 other Gumman S-2T air tankers across California.
This post was last modified on 10/14/2014 2:17 pm
Written by BJ Hansen.
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