Cal Fire identifies pilot killed while fighting fire near Yosemite

State fire officials have identified the pilot killed while fighting the Dog Rock Fire in Yosemite National Park Tuesday as Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt of San Jose.

Hunt, 62, was a 13-year veteran pilot of DynCorp, which was under contract with CalFire. Hunt is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Fire officials said they lost contact with the CalFire Grumman S-2T air tanker Tuesday afternoon. Hunt was the only crew member on board.

CalFire spokesman Richard Lopez has confirmed that the air tanker was based in Hollister.

“We do have two tankers. Tanker 80 and Tanker 81 here out of Hollister but only one was requested, and tanker 81 took the mission,” said Lopez.

In the wake of the crash, state fire officials grounded all air tankers as they work to figure out why the plane went down.

State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Alyssa Smith said Wednesday the agency normally does such a safety stand-down after a crash.

It was not clear how long the planes would be out of service. The agency has about 22 S-2T air tankers. Smith said other aircraft are still available to assist with fires.

“If there was a mechanical failure or structural failure we want to catch it before we have another catastrophic event,” said Lopez.

DynCorp mechanics will fly to every air attack base in California. That’s 13 bases each with multiple plants to inspect.

“It’s going to be a labor intensive process,” said Lopez.

The maintenance crew will inspect every single aircraft by hand. Lopez said it could take crews days before every engine, fuel tank and wing is inspected.

“This air base (Hollister) –we’ll keep it shut down until the crew here feels they’re ready to be back in action – It’s equivalent to losing a family member,” said Lopez.

A spokeswoman for DynCorp called the incident tragic.

“The DI family extends its deepest sympathies to the pilot’s family and loved ones in this difficult time,” said Beatrice-Madonna Livioca.

Hunt’s daughter said her parents had been married since 1975. He’d been a pilot with the U.S. Navy from 1975-1984, and served in the Navy Reserves for two decades.

Hunt, who was born in Richmond, earned a master’s degree in biochemistry from UC Santa Cruz and had worked as a chemistry professor at the university, according to his daughter, Sarah Iauterbach.

“My dad died a hero, there wasn’t not a day that went by that I didn’t talk to my dad,” she said. “He was my best friend.”

Gov. Jerry Brown said that Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff in Hunt’s honor.

“This crash underscores just how inherently dangerous wildland firefighting is and the job is further compounded this year by extreme fire conditions,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CalFire director.

The last time a CalFire air tanker crashed was in 2001. Two air tankers collided while fighting a fire in Mendocino County, killing both pilots.