Gunnison, Colorado – A helicopter working to put out a wildfire in Colorado has crashed in the Silver Jack Reservoir. The pilot and sole occupant was killed in the crash.

Pilot Nicholas Dale (56) died on Sunday when his helicopter crashed in Colorado, according to local authorities.

Per a report by the Colorado Sun, Dale was doing water drops from Silver Jack Reservoir to help suppress the Gold Mountain Fire when the helicopter went down.

In an initial statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft was a Kaman Aerospace K‑1200 and it "crashed under unknown circumstances, becoming inverted."

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The aircraft was registered to Helicopter Express LLC in Georgia, which operates just under four dozen helicopters.

The Gold Mountain fire in southwestern Colorado began June 27, 2026, and has burned some 36,200 acres near Ouray, Colo. As of Monday, the fire is 11% contained.

The 56‑year‑old of Sooke, British Columbia, leaves behind his wife and two children.

Dale is the fourth person killed while battling wildfires in Colorado.

Three firefighters died in June battling the Snyder Fire. "It has been one of the roughest years so far for our wildland firefighters. This heat – it just continues," Capt. Jason Wytulka with the Grand Junction Fire Department said as Dale's body was ceremonially delivered to the coroner's morgue in Grand Junction.

Extreme heat, dry vegetation, and drought have created dangerous fire conditions across the state of Colorado this year.