Updated: 4:05 p.m., July 26

JOHN DAY — The body of a pilot who died when an air tanker went down while battling wildfires in Eastern Oregon was escorted to a John Day mortuary on Friday, July 26, by an impromptu funeral procession.

In a joint news release Friday afternoon, the Forest Service and Grant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the pilot’s death but did not release the aviator’s identity.

“It’s with deep sadness that we share the death of a member of the wildland firefighter community following the conclusion of search efforts for a BLM-contracted single-engine air tanker (SEAT),” the news release stated.

Lisa Clark, a Bureau of Land Management information officer, said the name of the downed pilot would be released after next of kin had been notified.

The SEAT aircraft belonging to North Dakota-based Aerial Timber Applicators, according to the website for Aerial Fire The Aerial Firefighting Magazine.

The single-seat plane had been tasked to fight the Parasol Fire, a 350-acre lightning-sparked blaze near Seneca, when it was reported missing shortly before 7 p.m. on Thursday, Clark said.

“We immediately initiated a search for the aircraft … but were unable to locate the plane before dark,” Clark said. 

At that point, she said, a National Guard helicopter equipped with infrared and night vision equipment was called in, but it, too, was unsuccessful in locating the downed aircraft.

On Friday morning, a search and rescue team from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office joined the hunt, with help from wildland firefighters and local resources, and was able to find the aircraft and recover the pilot’s body.

Early Friday afternoon, a long line of official vehicles, some with their emergency lights flashing, was parked along Highway 395 in John Day across from the Driskill Memorial Chapel as firefighters and law enforcement personnel stood with their hats off in a show of respect.

State troopers blocked traffic on the normally busy road as an ambulance bearing the pilot’s body delivered its burden to the funeral home.

In a statement on X, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, called the pilot’s death “a tragic example of the risks that all firefighters take every day to keep Oregonians safe in our homes and communities,” adding: “My deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the pilot who sacrificed his life battling this fire in Eastern Oregon.”

A single-seat air tanker is essentially what is commonly referred to as a cropduster, or aerial application aircraft converted for wildland firefighting, with a tank that can hold 300-500 gallons of fire retardant.

Its small size enables it to take off from and land on small, remote airstrips, allowing for shorter turnaround times when ferrying loads of retardant to wildfires and it can get closer to the flames than larger aircraft.

“They can be really effective in sagebrush, open grass and anywhere the timber has a little opening,” Clark said.

The Forest Service and BLM are working with local law enforcement to determine the circumstances that led to the crash, and a Serious Accident Investigation Team will be called in to assist, according to the Forest Service/Grant County Sheriff’s Office news release.

As of Friday morning, 1,558 personnel from multiple agencies were battling the blaze, which was 55% contained.

The Telephone Fire, burning a few miles to the east, has now grown to 12,000 acres. Several smaller fires are also burning in the area, including some started by lightning in recent days.

The Falls Fire is believed to have been human-caused. Forest Service investigators are asking for the public’s assistance in the matter. Information that could aid the investigation can be submitted to SM.FS.R6TipHotLine@usda.gov.

Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated.

Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated.