MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A spokesman for the National Park Service said on Tuesday an air tanker fighting a wildfire inside of Yosemite National Park has crashed.
The airplane was helping to fight the Dog Fire inside of the park when it crashed around 2:45 Pacific time.
The fate of the pilot is unknown.
Fire official Daniel Berlant said it's unclear if anyone else other than the pilot was inside of the plane.
Berlant also said it would not be unusual if someone else would be in the plane for training purposes.
According to Berlant, the tanker went down in what's being called "challenging terrain."
A CalFire released a statement about the crash that reads: "This afternoon, contact was lost with one of our air tankers flying over a fire near Yosemite National Park. Emergency personnel are currently responding to the last known location of the aircraft. The air tanker was assigned to the Dog Rock Fire burning near Yosemite's Arch Rock. The status of the aircraft and the pilot have not been determined."
An evacuation order for the Foresta community due to the wildfire was issued Tuesday afternoon.
So far, the Dog Fire has burned about 130 acres.
Berlant said the lost air tanker uses twin turbine engines and is capable of carrying 1,200 gallons of fire retardant.
It is also unknown if the tanker was going to or returning from the fire.
