At least 14 US wildfire responders have died this year

Yosemite helicopter crash adds two deaths to 2026 toll

At least 14 people have died helping with US wildfires in 2026 — the most since 2022, when 25 deaths were recorded, according to government reports. Among the year’s dead are two helicopter pilots employed by aerospace company Precision. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilots’ helicopter crashed around 3 p.m. Sunday while conducting water drops over the Dome fire burning in Yosemite National Park.

The helicopter went down around 3 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and southeast of Ostrander Lake, according to Benjamin Cossel, a spokesperson with the Federal Complex Incident Management Team overseeing the firefighting response. The pilots had been working with a wildland firefighting crew that specializes in helitack rappelling — descending from helicopters by rope to reach terrain that is otherwise inaccessible.

Details about the circumstances of the crash were not immediately released. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

In a statement on social media, Precision said: “It is with unimaginable sadness and broken hearts that we share the loss of two beloved members of our team. We are devastated by this loss and are struggling to find the words. We ask for privacy and compassion for their families and our team as we grieve this tremendous loss.” The company did not immediately release the pilots’ names.

The Dome fire ignited on September 15 near Wawona, California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. It has burned across roughly 4.7 square miles — about 12.3 square kilometers, or more than 3,000 acres — and was about 15 percent contained as of Monday, with roughly 580 personnel assigned to the response. Ostrander Lake, near the crash site, lies roughly 9 miles south of Yosemite’s El Capitan and about 7 miles northeast of Wawona. Water-dropping helicopters have been central to fighting the blaze across its rugged terrain.

The deaths are part of a heavier toll on wildfire responders in the United States this year. Three firefighters died battling Colorado’s Knowles fire, and an additional member of that crew succumbed to injuries weeks afterward. That incident was the deadliest entrapment in 13 years.

The job has long carried inherent risks, but this year has been especially dangerous, according to The Guardian. The Trump administration has increased pressure on firefighting forces amid a critical shortage of federal firefighters.

Gabrielle Canon contributed reporting.