Pilot Killed After Helicopter Collided With The Ground While Fighting Canada Wildfire

A helicopter pilot has died after the aircraft collided with the ground during wildfire fighting operations in Alberta, the authorities said.

(Photo : Pexels/James Wheeler)

According to the BBC report, the 41-year-old unnamed pilot from Whitecourt was the lone occupant of the Bell 205A helicopter when it crashed near Haig Lake in north-western Alberta.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the forestry workers failed to resuscitate the pilot, who was declared dead at a nearby airport.

Authorities received the first signal from the emergency beacon at the collision site around 6:15 p.m. local time, 80 kilometers east-northeast of Peace River.

Initial investigations said the aircraft collided with the ground as the pilot worked to deliver water to the ongoing wildfire.

"I don't know what phase it would have been, whether it would have been while it was picking up water or it was releasing water," Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Chris Krepski said, as quoted by CBC. "That is typically what we would try to find out."

The helicopters utilized in the bucketing operation have a specialized bucket suspended on a wire to supply water to a fire.

Valhalla Helicopters, based in West Kelowna, British Columbia, operated the aircraft. Company authorities declined to comment on the tragedy.

Read Also: Canada Wildfire Smoke Clearing Up Along US East Coast, Extreme Heat Danger an Emerging Threat: Meteorologists

Canada mourns the death

The untimely death of the pilot comes just days after two other wildfire fighters were killed while fighting Canada's wildfire season.

Devyn Gale, a 19-year-old firefighter, died last week when a tree collapsed on her near Revelstoke, British Columbia.

Adam Yeadon, 25, was killed while fighting a wildfire near his home in Fort Liard, Northwest Territories, on Saturday.

"There are a lot of people across this country who have been stepping up during these very, very difficult forest fires, protecting their families, protecting their communities, protecting their fellow citizens," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as quoted by The Guardian. "And to have lost three firefighters, or individuals helping out in fighting the fires, is heartbreaking."

In June 2021, 48-year-old Heath Coleman of Prince George died when the aircraft he was flying while fighting a fire in Evansburg crashed in a rural area near the fire front.

Out of control wildfire

Data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center shows that more than 880 fires were burning across the country, and at least 580 of these current wildfires are considered "out of control" by the

The CNN reported that Canada is set for another record, consuming about 25 million acres, an area roughly the size of Ohio.

Michael Norton, a director general with Canada's Northern Forestry Centre, said that 2023 fire season will continue to break some record jn a number of ways.

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires had traveled south, blanketing North Georgia, Atlanta, and other portions of the southeast. The hazy conditions are expected to last in Atlanta and North Georgia, and potentially in central and southern Georgia.

Related Article: Over 100 Wildfires in Western Canada Forces Evacuation of Nearly 25,000 People