UPDATED: Crew member dies during Brian Head burn scar treatment

In this July 2017 file photo, firefighters head to the fire line to fight the Brian Head Fire, Utah, July 4, 2017 | Photo courtesy InciWeb, Cedar City News / St. George News

Update 6:20 p.m. The Iron County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who died as 58-year-old Bryan Burr, of Alpine.

ST. GEORGE — A man died Saturday afternoon after he was struck by debris dropped from a helicopter on the Brian Head burn scar.

Crews drop mulch on the Brian Head burn scar. Photo taken two days before Saturday’s fatal incident, Iron County, Utah, October 2017 | Photo courtesy Dean Cox, St. George News

Iron County Sheriff’s deputies and the Brian Head Marshal’s Office were dispatched to the incident in a remote location above a scout camp near state Route 143 at approximately 1:19 p.m.

Crews in the area were conducting aerial drops of straw mulch on the Brian Head burn scar. A helicopter pilot witnessed the man, a ground crew member who was calling in the location of the drops, get hit by debris, according to a news release issued by Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

The pilot called in ground crews who in turn called emergency services for additional assistance.

Brian Head Marshal Jeff Morgan was airlifted to the scene and determined the man was dead just before 2 p.m.

He likely died as a result of blunt force trauma from the falling debris, the Sheriff’s Office stated.

“The Iron County Sheriff’s Office wants to express their deepest condolences to the family, friends and coworkers of the deceased man,” the news release reads.

Investigation into the incident is ongoing and has been turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board.

In this June 2016 file photo taken at the northern perimeter of the Brian Head fire, wind gusts of 30-miles per hour fanned 100-foot flame lengths and caused spotting of a half mile, Blue Spring Mountain, June 26, 2017 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George News / Cedar City News

The human-caused Brian Head Fire started in mid-June and burned through more than 70,000 acres, forced around 1,500 people from their homes and cost about $34 million to fight before it was contained in July.

Robert Ray Lyman, the 60-year-old man accused of accidentally sparking the massive fire, was charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless burning and burning without a permit in July.

Read more: Taylorsville man charged with igniting massive Brian Head wildfire

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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