Due to nightfall, terrain with limited access and thunderstorm activity, resources were unable to get a good visual on Friday, InciWeb said.
On Saturday, Weaver Mountain Helitack performed a reconnaissance of the area and found an active fire 14 miles east of Wikieup and 20 miles northwest of Bagdad.
Woman in Wikieup witnesses plane crash
Michele Machholz, 54, who lives about a half-mile away from the Cedar Basin Fire in Wikieup, said she had been keeping track of the wildfire all day. Just before 1 p.m., she was looking outside from her kitchen while talking to her husband on the phone.
Then, Machholz said she saw something to the left and thought it was a turkey vulture but seconds later realized, It s not a turkey vulture, it s an airplane, Machholz told The Arizona Republic.
Updated: 1:29 ET, Jul 11 2021
TWO firefighters died while fighting an Arizona wildfire from the skies when their plane crashed as they performed aerial reconnaissance on the blaze.
Authorities said the crash occurred around noon on Saturday as the firefighters monitored the Cedar Basin Fire from the sky.
2
The plane crash occurred as firefighters attempted to monitor the fire from above
The firefighters were acting as eyes in the sky for those on the ground battling the inferno, bureau spokesperson Dolores Garcia told AZ Central.
Local, state, and federal agencies are investigating the crash, but no additional details will be available until the families of the firefighters are notified, the Arizona Bureau of Land Management said in a statement.
2 firefighters die as plane goes down while surveying blaze
July 11, 2021 GMT
WIKIEUP, Ariz. (AP) Two firefighters died Saturday after a aircraft they were in to respond to a wildfire crashed in Mohave County, Arizona, local media reported.
The Arizona Bureau of Land Management told KPHO-TV that the aircraft helping perform aerial reconnaissance and command and control over the Cedar Basin Fire burning near Wikieup, a tiny community of about 100, crashed around noon.
The two crew members on board did not survive, officials told KPHO and the Arizona Republic.
The plane performing aerial reconnaissance helps direct aviation resources responding to a wildfire, said Dolores Garcia, a spokesperson for the bureau, told the Republic.
Two firefighters are killed when their plane crashes while battling Cedar Basin wildfire in Arizona
The firefighters have not yet been officially named however one of the firefighters, Chief Jeff Piechura, was identified by his friend in a Facebook post
The Arizona Bureau of Land Management said the aircraft crashed around noon while helping battle the Cedar Basin Fire
The fire has burned 300 acres near Wikieup, a tiny community of about 100
The plane was performing aerial reconnaissance and command and control
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
2021/07/11 13:43 WIKIEUP, Ariz. (AP) Two firefighters died Saturday after a aircraft they were in to respond to a wildfire crashed in Mohave County, Arizona, local media reported. The Arizona Bureau of Land Management told KPHO-TV that the aircraft helping perform aerial reconnaissance and command and control over the Cedar Basin Fire burning near Wikieup, a tiny community of about 100, crashed around noon. The two crew members on board did not survive, officials told KPHO and the Arizona Republic. The plane performing aerial reconnaissance helps direct aviation resources responding to a wildfire, said Dolores Garcia, a spokesperson for the bureau, told the Republic.