TRAGIC END

Firefighting Aircraft Crashes Into Reservoir While Battling Colorado Blaze

A person was killed after an aircraft battling a fast-moving wildfire plunged into the water.

A firefighting aircraft crashed into a Colorado reservoir while battling a growing wildfire, killing the lone person believed to have been on board. Dive teams were dispatched to Silver Jack Reservoir after the aircraft went down at 5:17 p.m., according to the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities initially said it was unclear whether the aircraft was a plane or a helicopter, but they believed only one person was aboard. Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie later confirmed a body had been recovered from the wreckage and was being transported to the county coroner. The victim’s identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin. The aircraft had been assisting crews battling the Gold Mountain Fire, which ignited late last month and remains just 5 percent contained, according to the national wildfire information system InciWeb. The blaze has burned more than 35,601 acres across western Colorado, with mandatory evacuations still in effect in some communities east and northeast of the city of Ouray. There are no evacuation orders within the city itself. Investigators have not determined the cause of the wildfire, and authorities have not yet said what caused the aircraft to crash into the reservoir.