Crash Kills Pilot in Washington

[mtnfireguy]

Helicopter crashes at McGinnis Creek fire

Authorities have identified the helicopter pilot who died yesterday while dropping water on a Colville Indian Reservation Fire in northeastern Washington. 44-year-old Randall Harmon was from Grants Pass, Oregon, and had 20 years experience fighting wildfires as a chopper pilot.
Rescuers were sent to the scene about three miles northwest of Keller. The chopper went down about 5:00 Friday night.

The pilot had been making water drops along the north side of the McGinnis Flats fire. The fire, at 2 thousand 217 acres, was reported 70 percent contained today.

Fire spokesman Nick Mickel said a small fire started where the helicopter crashed, but it was quickly controlled.


http://www.kxly.com/common/getStory.asp?id=30254

[NJFFSA16]

NTSB

KELLER, Wash. (AP) - Investigators with the National
Transportation Safety Board on Sunday took their first close look
at the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed while fighting the
McGinnis Flats fire, killing the pilot.
Randall Harmon, 44, of Grants Pass, Ore., was the only one on
board the Kaman K-1200 when it went down Friday while dropping
water on the fire.
Investigators with the Washington State Patrol were helping the
NTSB chart the distribution of the wreckage, which could shed light
on what caused the helicopter to crash.
Superior Helicopter LLC based in Grants Pass, Ore., owned the
aircraft. The day after the crash, company spokesman Andy Mills
said, "We have no indications whatsoever what happened. Whatever
happened happened quickly. That's all we know."
Officials said it could take crash investigators six months to
determine what caused the helicopter to go down.
Calls to the NTSB's Seattle office were not immediately returned
on Sunday.
An experienced helicopter pilot, Harmon was the first person
killed fighting wildfires in Washington state this year. His death
came three days after two helitack firefighters in Idaho were
killed when they were overrun by flames in the Salmon-Challis
National Forest.
In eastern Arizona, a helicopter carrying three firefighters
crashed on Sunday, killing one firefighter and the pilot and
injuring another two firefighters.
The McGinnis Flats fire started July 18 and has burned about
2,233 acres on the Colville Indian Reservation. It remained about
70 percent contained on Sunday. There were more 600 firefighters
working the fire.
An explosives crew was sent to burn fire lines on the
northwestern edge of the blaze in the Brush Creek drainage, where
the terrain was too rocky and steep for firefighters to use hand
tools, fire information officer Koshare Lomnicki said.
Temperatures were expected to reach as high as 97 degrees on
Sunday, with winds of 8-12 mph and gusts of up to 20 mph.
"With the winds and the temperature, we do have the potential
for increased fire behavior - torching trees and spotting,
particularly in the Brush Creek drainage," Lomnicki said.
Investigators said the McGinnis Flats fire was human caused and
has cost more than $3.8 million to fight since it started on July
18.
There have been no serious injuries from any of the other
wildfires now burning in Washington, which have charred more than
90,000 acres.
About 60 miles northwest of Keller, officials monitoring the
63,597-acre Farewell Creek fire said crews had made significant
progress digging containment lines east of the blaze and west of
Loomis State Forest.
"We've got great lines in," fire information officer Chris
Papen said Sunday. "Two hot-shot crews stayed overnight so they
could work on it hot and heavy."
Firefighters were widening existing roads and trails, trying to
keep it from spreading to the 134,000-acre forest, which includes
state trust lands where logging proceeds are used to build public
schools.
The fire remained about 35 percent contained on Sunday. More
than 1,400 firefighters were battling the blaze, which was started
by lightning June 29. It has cost about $21 million to fight so
far.
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On the Net:
Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center:
www.or.blm.gov/nwcc/
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest: www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka
Farewell Creek fire: www.fawnpeak.com

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)