Deadly military helicopter crash in Texas kills 2, sparks wildfire and forces evacuations: officials
A military helicopter crash in a rural stretch of Bell County on Wednesday afternoon left two people dead and sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuations, closed nearby roads and drew a large multi-agency response.
Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said the crash was reported around 1:34 p.m. in a field south of Salado, roughly 30 minutes from Fort Hood. The aircraft came down off Dove Hollow Lane.
Coleman described the impact as violent and confirmed that two people on board were killed. No other injuries were reported.
Fort Hood later identified the aircraft as an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter based at the installation. The Army post did not release the names of those killed, pending notification of next of kin.
The crash ignited a grass fire that quickly spread across the surrounding terrain. By 4 p.m., Coleman said the fire was still uncontrolled, and some residents in the area had been evacuated as a precaution. Farm to Market Road 2843 was shut down near the crash site.
Salado Fire and Bell County Emergency Services District No. 1 reported crews were working a "major grass fire" along FM 2843 and warned the public that the roadway was impassable. The department urged drivers to avoid the area entirely so emergency vehicles could move freely.
Local firefighters, law enforcement officers and military personnel all converged on the scene.
Brigadier General Ethan Diven, acting commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, said the Army's immediate focus was on securing the site and supporting first responders. "Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information," Diven said in a statement released by Fort Hood.
The Army post said the situation was still developing and that further details would be released as they became available.
Fort Hood is leading the investigation into what caused the helicopter to go down. The Army has not publicly addressed the circumstances leading up to the crash.
Among those reacting publicly was Abhiram Garapati, a Republican candidate for Congress in Texas, who posted on Facebook that he was praying for the people aboard the helicopter, for the first responders at the scene and for anyone affected by the resulting fire.
The crash adds to a string of recent military aviation incidents across the country, including an F-35 that went down earlier this week at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California and a Coast Guard helicopter that crashed during a training mission in Alaska, injuring four crew members.
Emergency crews in Bell County were expected to remain on scene into the evening, working to contain both the fire and the crash site as the investigation got underway.
