Pilot killed when California S-2T air tanker crashes while fighting wildfire in Yosemite
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (CNN) -- An S-2T air tanker crashed Tuesday while fighting a wildfire in Yosemite National Park. The pilot, the lone occupant on the plane, died, Cal Fire said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The tanker was being used to help battle Dog Rock Fire when authorities lost contact with its pilot Tuesday afternoon, Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said in a statement. Berlant later confirmed the plane went down in that area.
"Rescue personnel are at the scene working their way through extremely difficult terrain to determine the condition of our pilot," Berlant said earlier in the day. He later tweeted that the crash had claimed the life of the pilot.
The Dog Rock Fire was reported around 2:45 p.m. between the park boundary and the Arch Rock entrance station.
Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb said about two hours later that the blaze had burned about 130 acres and was "0% contained."
"We don't know what started it," Cobb said.
The blaze has already prompted the evacuation of 60 homes, most of them vacation rentals, in the park's Foresta area, according to Cobb.
Yosemite's website also noted that parts of El Portal Road has been closed to all traffic.