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| Air tanker plane fighting Oregon ‘mega-fire’ disappears, officials say | Air tanker plane fighting Oregon ‘mega-fire’ disappears, officials say |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Single-pilot plane was delivering aid to crews battling Falls fire in eastern Oregon when it went missing on Thursday | Single-pilot plane was delivering aid to crews battling Falls fire in eastern Oregon when it went missing on Thursday |
| A single-pilot tanker plane disappeared in eastern Oregon while fighting the Falls fire, authorities said on Friday. | |
| The plane – used to deliver gallons of fire retardant or water – had been contracted by the US Bureau of Land Management to aid firefighters near the town of Seneca, on the edge of the Malheur national forest. | The plane – used to deliver gallons of fire retardant or water – had been contracted by the US Bureau of Land Management to aid firefighters near the town of Seneca, on the edge of the Malheur national forest. |
| Thomas Kyle-Milward, spokesperson for Northwest Incident Management Team 8, said authorities received a report of a missing aircraft around 6.53pm on Thursday. The pilot was the only person on board and had been assisting on a lightning start. | Thomas Kyle-Milward, spokesperson for Northwest Incident Management Team 8, said authorities received a report of a missing aircraft around 6.53pm on Thursday. The pilot was the only person on board and had been assisting on a lightning start. |
| So far, the plane has not been found. The search is ongoing and the Oregon national guard has been deployed. | So far, the plane has not been found. The search is ongoing and the Oregon national guard has been deployed. |
| The nearly 142,000-acre Falls fire, which began more than two weeks ago and has more than 1,500 firefighters on the lines, is one of several “mega-fires” over 100,000 acres being battled across Oregon. It is currently about 55% contained. | |
| The Oregon senator Ron Wyden tweeted on Friday morning: “The dangers of fighting fires are constant and this developing news story from eastern Oregon is a painful reminder of that fact. Let’s all take a moment to think about the people in this air tanker and hope for a positive outcome.” | |
| The news comes as several wildfires are raging across western states – including Oregon, California and Idaho. More than 1,500 sq miles have burned so far this summer in the US Pacific north-west, and more wildfires have spread in western Canada. | |
| Oregon still has the biggest active blaze in the United States, the Durkee fire, which has combined with the Cow fire to burn nearly 630 sq miles (1,630 sq km). It remains unpredictable and was only 20% contained on Friday, according to the government website InciWeb. | Oregon still has the biggest active blaze in the United States, the Durkee fire, which has combined with the Cow fire to burn nearly 630 sq miles (1,630 sq km). It remains unpredictable and was only 20% contained on Friday, according to the government website InciWeb. |