DURKEE, OR (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A tanker plane that disappeared in eastern Oregon while fighting wildfires has been found, and the pilot on board is dead.
A Grant County Search and Rescue team located the aircraft on the morning of July 26 and confirmed the death, according to a Bureau of Land Management information officer for the Falls Fire.
The single-engine tanker was located in steep, forested terrain after the search was suspended at nightfall the day before.
The Falls Fire, on the edge of the Malheur National Forest, has grown to 219 square miles and is 55% contained.
Overall, more than 1,500 square miles have burned so far this summer in the pacific northwest, and more wildfires have spread across western Canada.
That includes land scorched by the Easy Fire, which has burnt nearly 400 acres and is 0% contained.
Trailheads and entrances to the North Cascades National Park have been shuttered by the Pincer Two Fire in rural Skagit County, which has spread to 82 acres.
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect new information pertaining to the death of the pilot in Oregon and updated wildfire information. MyBellinghamNow.com will continue to update this story with more information.
