Two people battling the Cedar Basin Fire from the sky were killed in an aircraft accident Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management Arizona said.
The aircraft was “performing aerial reconnaissance and command and control over the fire” when the accident happened around noon (3 p.m. ET) Saturday, BLM Arizona said Saturday.
“Two crew members were on board and we are sad to report there were no survivors,” the statement said.
The names of the two people killed have not been released, pending notification of relatives, the agency said.
The Cedar Basin Fire is a brush fire burning about 14 miles east of Wikieup. The fire has spanned about 300 acres and was first reported after a thunderstorm Friday, according to information on Inciweb.
The Bureau of Land Management Arizona and local, state and federal agencies responded to the accident.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
