Two helicopter pilots died on Sunday afternoon while fighting a fire in Yosemite National Park. The pilots were conducting water drops over the Dome fire when their helicopter crashed around 3pm, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilots were employed by the aerospace company Precision and were working with a wildland firefighting crew. The helicopter went down southeast of Ostrander Lake.
The Dome fire, which started on 15 September near Wawona, California, has burned more than 3,000 acres. Approximately 580 people are currently fighting the blaze, which is about 15% contained.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The names of the pilots have not yet been released.