Procession planned Tuesday for Utahn killed in Yosemite fire
· KSL.comEstimated read time: 1-2 minutes
PARK CITY — A dignified transfer is planned Tuesday afternoon for Ryan Cutter, the Utahn killed in a Sept. 20 crash of a firefighting helicopter in Yosemite National Park.
The procession and dignified transfer home of Cutter, 46, will start around 12:45 p.m. at Heber Airport. At the airport tarmac, a crew will lead the dignified transfer to Cutter's wife, Nina.
The procession will travel through Heber City at the start and end at the I-80 Summit Park exit.
Cutter and Pilot Greg King were killed last week when their helicopter went down as they conducted a water drop on a wildfire inside Yosemite in California.
Cutter was born in New Hampshire, where he was a high school ski-jump champion. He came to Utah to work at the Olympic Park and to ski.
The U.S. Forest Service released a statement Monday announcing the dignified transfers of Cutter and King, an Alaska resident, and in it acknowledged the tragedy of the situation.
"Tragedies of this nature serve as a reminder of the admirable work by our employees and partners," the statement read. "The hardest thing we encounter as land managers is the loss of life."
After Cutter's death, past colleagues told KSL they will always hold him in high regard. One of them said he was the best among them — Cutter was passionate about life; when you became his friend, you became family.
— KSL