Our Prayers go out

In our previous post, we showed a picture of our flight out of the Buckhorn fire. The yellow Carson Sikorsky S-61N crashed yesterday on the buckhorn loaded with a type 2 crew (Greybacks). Below is the current news on this incident, again our thoughts and prayers go out to the Greyback Forestry Co. and their families.

Fire Helicopter Crashes In Northern Calif., 4 Hurt, JUNCTION CITY (CBS13/AP) ― The US Forest Service is reporting that nine firefighting personnel are unaccounted for, but have not said whether or not the disappearances are linked to the crash of a Forest Service helicopter last night in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. At least four firefighting personnel were seriously hurt in that crash, according to officials.The US Forest Service says a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter being used to combat the Buckhorn Fire, about 15 miles northwest of Junction City, crashed around 7:45 p.m. just north of the flames last night. Four victims of the crash were first taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding last night. Three were transported to UC Davis Medical Center where they are listed in critical condition. One of the injured workers remains at Mercy Medical Center and is listed in serious condition. The Forest Service has not confirmed how many people were on board the aircraft when it went down. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter is the only wildland firefighting helicopter in the nation equipped to simultaneously carry both water and crew. It can simultaneously carry up to 18 firefighters and drop up to 1,000 gallons of water via a suspended bucket. Cal Fire uses the aircraft to provide initial attack support on fires throughout California and to support firefighting efforts nationwide.