Reuters8:07 a.m. CDT, June 4, 2012


SALT LAKE CITY, June 4 (Reuters) - Two Idaho men were killed
when the air tanker they were piloting as part of efforts to
contain a 5,000-acre wildfire along the Nevada-Utah border
crashed on Sunday, police said.Pilot Todd Neal Tompkins and co-pilot Ronnie Edwin
Chambless, both of Boise, died in the crash, the Iron County,
Utah, Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The air tanker, a Lockheed Martin P2V, was en route to drop
chemical fire retardant on the White Rock Fire that started
Friday night about 25 miles northeast of Caliente, Nevada. By
Sunday, the fire had crossed into Utah.
The cause of the crash was not known, and the National
Transportation Safety Board did not immediately return phone
calls. The plane went down in the Hamlin Valley area of
southwestern Utah, the sheriff's office said.
Wildfires have consumed more than 200 square miles (520
square km) of rugged land in six U.S. states, including a major
blaze in New Mexico.
The White Rock fire was caused by lightning and as of Sunday
night had not been contained.
(Reporting by Jennifer Dobner; Editing by Dan Burns)