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Rocky Canyon Fire updates, evacuations

Wildland firefighters killed in Utah helicopter crash escorted to Salt Lake City airport

Unified Fire Authority Capt. Brian Christensen salutes as the procession for two pilots killed battling the massive Widemouth 2 Fire passes through Taylorsville on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026.
Trent Nelson
/
The Salt Lake Tribune
Unified Fire Authority Capt. Brian Christensen salutes as the procession for two pilots killed battling the massive Widemouth 2 Fire passes through Taylorsville on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026.

The “fallen heroes” will be flown to their respective homes in Nevada and California.

Two pilots killed in a helicopter crash while battling Utah’s massive Widemouth 2 wildfire this month began their final journey home early Friday to their families.

A procession for the firefighters — Chris Andersen, 64, of Stateline, Nevada, and Miles Elliott, 50, of Porterville, California — began at about 11 a.m., when the “fallen heroes” left the state medical examiner’s office in Taylorsville.

Their bodies were then escorted north along Interstate 215 before arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport to depart for home.

The men were killed Friday, Aug. 7, when their Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane went down while fighting the unwieldy Widemouth 2 Fire in south-central Utah.

It took more than a full day for first responders to safely reach the crash site, which became overwhelmed by flames.

Read the full article by Samantha Moilanen at sltrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.