Firefighting chopper crashes in B.C.

A firefighting helicopter has crashed near Lillooet, British Columbia. Fortunately both men aboard have survived the crash.

The pilot was taken to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with pain in his legs, while the co-pilot is being kept in hospital in Lillooet for observation.

The helicopter, a Bell 214, was contracted out for fire control from TransWest Helicopters.

A forest fire, sparked on July 21 by lighting, is still burning out of control near Lillooet. Early today officials estimated that 1,000 hectares have been burned.

30 homes were evacuated as the fire moved towards town.

B.C. has been experiencing one of the driest months on record, and much of the province is rated at an extreme or high fire risk.

Read more:
Fire-fighting helicopter crashes near Lilooet - Co-pilots both survived crash of Bell 214 chopper
Lillooet wildfire scorches 1,000 hectares (CBC)
Lillooet fire still burns out of control (CBC)