Chris Andersen, the chief pilot killed when a firefighting helicopter crashed over the Widemouth 2 Fire last Friday, is being remembered by family and fellow aviators as a hero who spent 40 years running toward danger.
Andersen was 64 years old. His career took him from the NATO frontier to the oil fields of Africa to flying the prime minister of Haiti. But his passion was fighting wildfires.
His brother, Ric Andersen, spoke from Iowa about the kind of man Chris was.
"Whether it was helping a friend, whether it was, as you well saw, a house on fire, Chris was the guy that would run into the fire, not from the fire," Ric Andersen said.
Chris Andersen lived in the Lake Tahoe area, loved to ski, and was a voracious reader. Friends and fellow aviators knew him as a consummate professional — disciplined, steady, exacting, and dependable.
He was just months away from retirement and had planned carefully for it.
His death is a second devastating loss for his family. Ric Andersen reflected on what his brother's passing means to their parents.
"My parents are still alive, and Chris is the second son that they've buried in the last five years. So, it's really hard on my parents, but I think it's gratifying to know that if your sons are gonna go, the way he went was the way heroes go," Ric Andersen said.
Chris Andersen's remains will be transferred to his family Wednesday in Utah. The family will fly back to Iowa Thursday.
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