A Cessna 182 that crashed in Washington state Thursday killed two people on board and sparked a wildfire that forced hundreds of residents to evacuate. Firefighters responding to the wildfire discovered the wreckage with a body inside, and NTSB investigators called to the scene found a second body Friday, The Associated Press reported. Local law enforcement and the FAA were on the scene Friday. “The plane was destroyed in the fire, so there were no numbers left to get a positive ID on the aircraft,” Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said in the AP report. “It was so hot that we couldn’t get an identification.”
Media reports said the Cessna was flying from Oroville in north-central Washington and headed for Spokane when it crashed in a remote area near the Canadian border. About 660 homes were threatened and more than 400 people were evacuated when winds picked up and the blaze spread. An estimated 10 to 12 buildings burned, the AP reported. The region has been under fire advisories due to the hot, dry weather, and lightning strikes overnight ignited other fires in the state, according to media reports.
