Fatal crash grounds firefighting fleet

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The deadly crash of a military cargo plane fighting a South Dakota wildfire forced officials to ground seven other Air Force air tankers, removing critical firefighting aircraft from the skies during one of the busiest and most destructive wildfire seasons ever to hit the West.

The C-130 from an Air National Guard wing based in Charlotte, N.C., was carrying a crew of six and fighting a 6.5-square-mile blaze in the Black Hills when it crashed Sunday, killing one crew member and injuring others.

President Barack Obama offered thoughts and prayers to the crew and their families. "The men and women battling these terrible fires across the West put their lives on the line every day for their fellow Americans," he said.

The crash cut the number of large air tankers fighting this summer's outbreak of wildfires by one-third. The military put the remaining seven C-130s on an "operational hold," keeping them on the ground indefinitely. That left 14 federally contracted heavy tankers in use until investigators gain a better understanding of what caused the crash.

The plane was fighting a fire 80 miles southwest of Rapid City. The terrain of the crash site is "very, very rugged, straight up and straight down cliffs," said Frank Maynard, the Fall River County emergency director.

The family of Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal, 42, of Mooresville, N.C., said they were told early yesterday that he had died in the crash. They said he was a married father of two and a veteran of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Colorado, the 27-square-mile Waldo Canyon Fire was 55 percent contained after killing two and destroying nearly 350 homes.

Two new wildfires broke out on National Forest lands in southern Utah, one caused by target shooting, authorities said. Evacuations were ordered as the 500-acre Shingle fire threatened about 100 cabins.

In Montana, the 290-square mile Ash Creek fire jumped a state highway, triggering evacuations.

In Wyoming, three large forest fires continued to spread as crews faced erratic winds and explosive fuel conditions.