Pilot Delivering Water To Ground Firefighters

A Bell 205 helicopter helping fight a forest fire went down in the Klamath National Forest in Yreka, CA Monday, killing the pilot.

It is not immediately clear what caused the helo to go down about 12 miles southeast of Happy Camp in Siskiyou County in an "extremely rugged" area, according to US Forest Service spokesman Duane Lyon.

The helicopter was transporting a large water container to ground firefighters to refill their hand-pump backpacks. Several of the firefighters saw the crash and notified emergency dispatchers, according to the Associated Press.

Lyon declined to identify the pilot, who was the only person aboard the helicopter. The pilot was not a government employee but under contract with the USFS.

Sparked by lightning July 10, the fires are covering around 14 square miles near the Oregon state line. About 550 homes near Happy Camp have been threatened but none have been destroyed so far as more than 1,000 firefighters continue to battle about 30 different fires in the area.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 205BR        Make/Model: B205      Description: BELL 205A-1 ROTORCRAFT
  Date: 07/23/2007     Time: 1800

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: HAPPY CAMP   State: CA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  N205BR, A BELL 205 A ROTORCRAFT, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES IN
  MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, THE ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED,  12 MILES
  FROM HAPPY CAMP, CA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Public Use      Phase: Other      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: SACRAMENTO, CA  (WP25)                Entry date: 07/24/2007

FMI: www.fs.fed.us