1 dead following single-engine air tanker crash near a wildfire burning in Colorado

ESTES PARK, Colo. (KKTV) - One person was killed in a plane crash Tuesday night near a wildfire burning near Estes Park.

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office is reporting they first received a report of a single-engine air tanker crash south of Estes Park at about 6:37 p.m. At about 9:49 p.m., the crash site was located near the south end of Hermit Park.

“We are sad to report that the pilot and only occupant of the aircraft did not survive,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “The investigation into the crash will be led by the FAA and NTSB.”

The Kruger Rock Fire was first spotted Tuesday morning and has since burned more than 100 acres. The fire started in the area of Little Valley and Fish Creek on the far southeast side of Estes Park.

Officials identified the pilot as Marc Thor Olson. The company he worked for posted the following:

According to Dillon Thomas with 11 News partner CBS Denver, the aircraft that may have crashed was seen circling the fire earlier in the day:

Editor’s note: At one point KKTV mistakenly reported two people had died in the crash. This article has since been updated to reflect a single person died, the pilot.

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