Pilot and retired fire chief killed in plane crash while fighting Arizona wildfire

At first, Michele Machholz thought she’d seen a turkey vulture Saturday afternoon while keeping a watchful eye on a wildfire near her home in Wikieup, Arizona.

“It’s not a turkey vulture, it’s an airplane,” Machholz told The Arizona Republic. “And it’s coming down at an angle that ... you don’t traditionally see airplanes flying at this angle.”

Then the airplane slammed into the ground.

“I’m screaming on the phone and ‘Oh my gosh. It just crashed. I can’t believe it’,” Machholz said. “I’m trying to tell my husband that this airplane just crashed and there was this big black plume of giant black smoke.”

A federal Bureau of Land Management plane performing aerial reconnaissance on the Cedar Basin Fire crashed around noon, killing two firefighters, the agency reported.

“Our hearts are heavy tonight,” the agency wrote on Twitter.

Jeff Piechura, a former fire chief in Stockton, California, and the Tucson area, was one of those killed, AZ Family reported. The name of the pilot has not been released.

“He was a hero,” sister Christine Piechura told the station. “He really was. A good father. A great great father. A great husband, and a great brother.”

Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona offered condolences, KPNX reported.

“The memory of these brave, selfless firefighters will live on,” Ducey wrote. “Arizona is deeply saddened by their loss, and grateful for their commitment to protecting others from Cedar Basin Fire. My condolences go to their families, loved ones, and fellow firefighters.”

The lightning-sparked Cedar Basin Fire has burned 450 acres. Firefighters across the western United States are battling blazes in California, Oregon and Arizona.

This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Pilot and retired fire chief killed in plane crash while fighting Arizona wildfire."