Pilot death is 2nd amid late season wildfires in Rockies

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a pilot who crashed while fighting a wildfire near Rocky Mountain National Park at night, the second person to die amid wind-driven, late season wildfires in the Rockies this week. The pilot was identified by the company he worked for as Marc Thor Olson, a military veteran with 42 years of flying experience. While the state doesn’t contract planes to fly at night, the sheriff’s office says it hired the plane because of the fire’s potential to quickly spread. A wildfire that started Monday led to the death a person near Wyoming’s border with Montana.