Crash Kills Pilot Fighting Yosemite Fire

The pilot of a single-person air tanker was killed when the plane crashed while fighting a rapidly spreading wildfire in Yosemite National Park. The air tanker went down Tuesday afternoon within a mile of the park’s west entrance near California’s Highway 140, a spokesman said. Emergency personnel were able to gain access to the aircraft and determine that the pilot had died, officials said. A spokeswoman for the California Department of Safety and Fire Protection said the plane went down in rugged terrain. The fire broke out about 90 minutes before the crash occurred and had grown quickly to about 130 acres, forcing the evacuation of several dozen homes near the community of Foresta. The pilot’s name was not released.