Helicopter carrying two crashes while battling Utah wildfire; Oregon blaze kills bulldozer operator

Richfield: A heavy-lift helicopter carrying two people crashed while fighting a wildfire in Utah, as firefighters battled a separate blaze in Oregon that killed a bulldozer operator, officials said on Friday.

There was no immediate information on the condition of those aboard the helicopter. Emergency crews had been unable to reach the crash site because of the ongoing fire.

The Sikorsky S-64 helicopter was among seven aircraft deployed to fight a wildfire in central Utah that was sparked by lightning on 27 July. It crashed near Richfield, about 160 miles (258 kilometres) south of Salt Lake City, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The helicopter had been operating in steep terrain when it went down, according to Tyler Hecht of the Great Basin Incident Management Team. The crash sparked another fire in the area.

Hecht said conditions had been suitable for aerial firefighting at the time of the crash, although officials did not know how long the helicopter had been in the air.

Firefighting operations were temporarily suspended following the crash but later resumed. Response teams were unable to reach the wreckage on Friday because of the flames, but officials hoped to access the site within 24 hours.

"We didn't want to put them at bigger risk," Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said. "We'll get them in there as soon as we can."

It was not immediately known whether the wildfire had reached the crash site.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will investigate the crash, although access to the site could be delayed if the fire remains active nearby.

The S-64, also known as the Skycrane, is a heavy-lift helicopter commonly used by commercial operators and government agencies for firefighting. It can be fitted with tanks to carry and drop water or fire retardant.

Meanwhile, firefighters in Oregon were battling the Wrights Spring fire, which had grown rapidly and remained completely uncontained by Friday.

Jason Ensign, 47, died on Thursday while operating a bulldozer for a timber company. The local sheriff's department said the fire experienced "unexpected and rapid growth", cutting off his escape route.

The fire began on Wednesday in south-central Oregon, east of Chiloquin. By Friday, it had burned nearly 14 square miles (36 square kilometres), according to the US Forest Service. Officials blamed extremely hot and dry conditions for the erratic fire behaviour.

In Utah, the Fishlake National Forest fire near the small community of Kanosh had grown to about 165 square miles (427 square kilometres) by Friday morning. It was 19% contained, with more than 600 firefighters working to control it.

The blaze has prompted evacuations and destroyed at least six structures as it spread through timber, brush and grass.

Fire crews had been warned of potentially dangerous conditions, including erratic winds, dry vegetation, high temperatures and the possibility of dry thunderstorms and lightning. Red flag warnings were in effect.

Months of dry weather, record-low snowfall in some areas, heatwaves and unpredictable winds have fuelled wildfires across Utah and other parts of the western United States.

Four firefighters were killed and another was injured in June after being caught by a fast-moving wildfire in Colorado. The firefighters attempted to protect themselves using tent-like emergency shelters as flames overtook their position.