Overview
- A Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma contracted to Precision crashed while conducting water-bucket drops on the Dome Fire, killing the two crew members on board Sunday afternoon.
- The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with the FAA and the U.S. Forest Service cooperating, and officials have not released the victims’ names pending next-of-kin notification.
- Fire managers say the Dome Fire has burned roughly 3,000 acres and is about 15% contained as crews rely on hand crews and aircraft to fight flames in rugged, roadless areas.
- The helicopter was assigned to the Price Valley rappel/helitack program and its loss removes a key aerial asset from the incident, raising immediate operational and safety concerns for suppression work.
- The crash adds to a year of elevated firefighter fatalities and officials expect investigators and incident managers to update cause, safety reviews, and resource plans in the coming days.