Two Firefighters Killed Battling Arizona Fire

Two firefighters died on Saturday after an aircraft they were in to respond to a wildfire crashed in Arizona's Mohave County, officials said.

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The Arizona Bureau of Land Management said in a press release that the aircraft crashed around noon while helping perform aerial reconnaissance, command and control over the Cedar Basin Fire near Wikieup.

The Cedar Basin Fire was sparked by lightning and has burned 300 acres near the tiny community of about 100 people.

One of the crash victims was identified as Chief Jeff Piechura. The other victim has not been named. 

'The Bureau of Land Management is currently working with other local, state and federal agencies to respond to a fatal aircraft accident associated with the Cedar Basin Fire near Wikieup, Arizona,' the press release reads.

'The accident occurred around noon today (July 10) and involved an air attack aircraft performing aerial reconnaissance and command and control over the fire.'

The press release adds: 'Two crew members were on board and we are sad to report there were no survivors. We will provide additional information pending next of kin notification. Our hearts go out to the families of our brave wildland firefighters.' 

Piechura was identified by his friend in a Facebook post. 

'I'm kind of stunned and not sure what to say right now. A wonderful day just ended in tragedy. A great friend died in an Air Attack plane crash on a wildfire in AZ,' wrote Glenn Brown, the Fire Chief of the Georgetown Fire Department in California. 

Brown added: 'A friend that we went to High School together, started with Rural/Metro Fire together and transferred to Scottsdale Fire together. Chief Jeff Piechura. God speed Jeffy. Your legacy will live on. Please pray for him, his wife Donna and his kids.' 

Piechura served as assistant chief for the Fire District in Sedona, Arizona and had previously served as the fire chief for the city of Stockton, California and for the Northwest Fire District in Tucson, Arizona, according to his biography on the firefighting industry website Firehouse.

He held a master’s degree in fire administration and a bachelor’s degree in fire management form Arizona State University. 

Piechura was an inducted to the Arizona Fire Service Hall of Fame in 2015 and had once served as president for the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association among a number of other accolades. 

Dolores Garcia, a spokesperson for the bureau, told the Arizona Republic that the plane performing aerial reconnaissance helps direct aviation resources responding to a wildfire.

Garcia said these firefighters are one of the earliest personnel responding to a wildfire.

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The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

The NTSB said in a statement posted to Twitter that the plane was a Beech C-90 and that an investigator is responding to the crash scene.