A Cal Fire air tanker crashed in Yosemite National Park in California Tuesday afternoon, killing the unidentified pilot. The S-2T aircraft was fighting the Dog Rock Fire near Arch Rock and hit the wall of a canyon. The circumstances of the crash were not clear in early reports. The fire started about 2:45 p.m. and had grown to 130 acres within a couple of hours. The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m. More than 60 homes in the area have been evacuated.
The aircraft was a former S-2EG Tracker used as a carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft and has two turboprop engines. It can carry 1200 gallons of fire retardant. California has 23 of them.
