Utah leaders honor the lives of fallen firefighters
Aug 13, 2026, 5:24 PM | Updated: 5:51 pm
Flags in front of the Capitol fly at half-staff in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. The flags were lowered in honor of firefighter pilots Chris Andersen and Miles Elliott, who died in the line of duty while battling the Widemouth 2 Fire in Utah. (Photo: Lukas Katilius, Deseret News)
(Photo: Lukas Katilius, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox ordered that Utah flags fly at half-staff beginning Tuesday, and stay lowered until the last day of internment of two firefighters who died last week while working to contain the Widemouth 2 Fire.
Recently, Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee, along with Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., introduced a bipartisan resolution to honor the lives of those who serve on the front lines of wildfire efforts across the country.
A Sikorsky Skycrane lifts after refilling as crews fight the Widemouth 2 Fire east of Fillmore on Aug. 4. Gov. Spencer Cox ordered that Utah flags fly at half-staff beginning Tuesday, and stay lowered until the last day of internment of two firefighters who died last week while working to contain the Widemouth 2 Fire. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
Originally, the legislation was proposed to honor those who lost their lives fighting the Snyder Fire along the Utah-Colorado border, but on Monday, Curtis noted the recent deaths in central Utah.
Behind every wildfire are brave men and women who embody the very best of public service: courage, selflessness, and an unwavering commitment to protecting our communities, often at great personal risk,” Curtis said in a press release Monday.
2 firefighters remembered as problem-solvers
Chris Andersen, a pilot who died in a helicopter crash while fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire on Friday. Local and government leaders paid tribute to him and Miles Elliott, who also died in the crash. (Photo: Family photo)
Chris Andersen, 64, from Nevada, and Miles Elliott, 50, from California, were killed when their Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter crashed the morning of Aug. 7. The crash ignited nearby vegetation, creating a blaze that connected to the existing flames.
Search and rescue and ground resources attempted to respond to the scene but could not gain access due to the fire. When search and rescue teams were able to access the area the next day, both men were confirmed dead. The cause of the incident is under investigation, authorities said.
Miles Elliott, pictured in this photo from a GoFundMe page, was one of two pilots killed while fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire in central Utah. (Photo: GoFundMe)
“This incident is another reminder of the difficult work that wildland firefighters and support staff are asked to do,” the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Fatalities such as this land heavily on the minds and hearts of our agencies and the wildland fire community as a whole,” the office added.
A 2-mile processional escorted the bodies of Anderson and Elliott to the state medical examiner’s office Saturday.
Andersen, the chief pilot, was “a guy that ran to the problem, not from the problem,” said Andersen’s brother, Ric Andersen.
“I’m not surprised that he was in the middle of it,” Ric Anderson told KSL.
Elliott, who was helping Andersen pilot the helicopter, had “deep roots” in Porterville, KSL reports. Porterville’s transportation director, Russell Isom, said Elliott “was the kind of friend who would do anything for you, without hesitation or expectation.”
“The Porterville Airport community lost one of its own, and I lost a good friend,” Isom told KSL. “We are going to miss him.”
Gov. Spencer Cox released a statement Saturday in mourning the lives of the two men.
“They put themselves in harm’s way to protect our state and gave their lives in that service,” Cox said in a statement on social media.
“Utah will never forget their courage, their service, and their sacrifice,” Cox added.
Cox ordered that Utah flags fly at half-staff beginning Tuesday, and stay lowered until the last day of internment.
“We will never forget their sacrifice,” Cox said.
Utah senators introduce bipartisan resolution to honor fallen firefighters
The Utah and Colorado senators introduced the resolution to honor the lives of those who serve on the front lines of wildfire efforts across the country.
“Since this resolution was introduced, it was confirmed that Utah has lost two more heroic individuals in a helicopter crash while fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire. My heart is with the families, friends, and fellow firefighters mourning the devastating loss of these brave Americans,” Curtis said in a press release.
The resolution specifically mentions honoring the lives of five firefighters who lost their lives fighting the Snyder Fire along the Utah-Colorado border, inviting U.S. residents “to honor the courage, sacrifice, and service of the men and women who risk their lives each wildfire season in defense of their fellow citizens.”
Lee said the lives of firefighters who died in service “will always be remembered in the lands they protected.”
“These brave Americans from across the country dropped into the eye of the storm via helicopter to fight the wildfires ripping through Utah’s eastern border,” Lee said. “Utah’s prayers are with the families grieving these heroes.”
The resolution, formally introduced on Aug. 7, comes amid other legislation sponsored by Curtis to address wildfire prevention and forest resilience. Curtis has also recently sponsored the Fix Our Forests Act and Wildfire Emission Prevention Act to manage the heightened wildfire risk in Utah.
The Widemouth 2 and Snyder fires are a part of one of Utah’s most devastating fire seasons to date, with 527,987 acres of land burned so far in the 2026 season.
