A Park City pilot was one of two men killed in a helicopter crash while fighting the Dome Fire in California’s Yosemite National Park. Parkite Ryan Cutter and Greg King of Palmer, Alaska, were conducting water drops Sunday afternoon when the helicopter went down near Ostrander Lake, 9 miles south of El Capitan.
The Associated Press reports the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what caused the crash.
Both men worked for Precision Helicopters, which identified the pilots Monday. Cutter lived in Park City and previously worked with a local television news station flying crews around Utah.
This is the third deadly firefighting helicopter crash in the West this year. PBS reports in August, two helicopter pilots died while helping fight the Widemouth 2 Fire in south-central Utah. In July, a pilot was killed when his helicopter crashed into a reservoir while fighting the Gold Mountain Fire in Gunnison, Colorado.
PBS reports at least 14 people have died fighting wildfires across the country this year, the most since 2022 when 25 people were killed.
