4 Dead In Boulder County Plane Crash That Caused Wildfire, Feds Say

JAMESTOWN, CO — Four people died in a small plane crash Sunday morning that ignited a wildfire in Boulder County, federal aviation officials said.

A Cessna P337 crashed around 9:45 a.m. Sunday near Lefthand Canyon Drive and Lickskillet Road, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

A witness saw the plane crash into the ground and then reported seeing smoke and flames.

Arriving firefighters found a single-engine plane destroyed and one person dead. Firefighters also arrived to a half-acre wildfire burning, and flames slowly grew in the heavy timber. Crews dug containment lines around the flames and poured water from brush trucks to stop them from spreading. A helicopter dropped water from the air as well.

Residents near Gold Hill and Ward were evacuated for the fire, which was later named the Spring Gulch Fire. The evacuation order was later lifted and the fire was 90 percent contained. Firefighters worked into Sunday evening and planned to patrol the area into Monday.

The Federal Aviation Administration wrote in its preliminary report Monday that four people died in the crash. The dead included a flight crew member and three passengers. Their names weren't immediately released.

The plane, a T337G, was most recently registered as a fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft built in 1972, according to FAA records. It was registered to VX Aviation in Broomfield.