1st LD Writethru: Firefighting helicopter crashes while battling wildfire in U.S. Utah


LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- A firefighting helicopter crashed Friday while battling a large wildfire in the U.S. state of Utah, authorities said.

A Sikorsky S-64 helicopter carrying two people crashed near Richfield, Utah, around 10 a.m. local time (1700 GMT), according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Fire officials said the helicopter crashed in the vicinity of the Widemouth 2 Fire, currently the second-largest wildfire of Utah's 2026 fire season.

Emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene, according to authorities. Information on the condition of the two people aboard the helicopter was not immediately available.

The lightning-caused wildfire, which was discovered on July 27, has burned more than 105,000 acres (about 425 square km), and is 19 percent contained, according to Utah Fire Info, the interagency public information resource on wildfires in the state.

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