CRAIG, Colo.—Authorities say the pilot of a firefighting plane suffered only minor injuries when his single-engine aerial tanker crashed in northwest Colorado.
The plane went down Wednesday at 3 p.m. about 20 miles northwest of Meeker, or 170 miles northwest of Denver.
The pilot’s name wasn’t released. The federal Bureau of Land Management says he walked away from the crash and was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Grand Junction.
BLM officials said the pilot was released from the hospital Thursday and the crash is being investigated.
The plane was battling a 10-acre wildfire on BLM land. The fire is one of 30 sparked by lightning in northwest Colorado since Sunday.
Most are small, but one burned 25,385 acres 32 miles northwest of Craig. That fire and a 956-acre blaze 15 miles north of Elk Springs were completely contained Thursday.
A 5,150-acre fire 23 miles northwest of Craig was 100 percent contained Tuesday.
