BLM news release:
A pilot whose single-engine air tanker crashed at approximately 4 p.m. today while working on the Hoyt Fire about 125 miles northeast of Reno was air lifted to Pershing General Hospital in Lovelock, where a short time later passed away. Information regarding the pilot is being withheld until notification of the family.
“We are greatly saddened with the loss of any firefighter,” said Ron Wenker, the Bureau of Land Management State Director for Nevada. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of this courageous pilot.”
Other aircraft continue to combat the 600-acre wildland fire in the northeast Clan Alpine Range in central Nevada. Three Type 1 hand crews are on the scene and a Type 2 Incident Management Team has been ordered. BLM has have notified the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, and the crash and the source of the fire are under investigation.
