Firefighters, community honor fallen pilot Ryan Cutter during procession home

PARK CITY — Fire trucks and first responder vehicles filled the roads Tuesday afternoon in Summit County as fallen helicopter pilot Ryan Cutter was brought home to Utah.

Cutter, 46, was killed Sept. 20 when the firefighting helicopter he was piloting crashed while conducting a water drop on the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park in California.

Fellow pilot Greg King was also killed.

Cutter's dignified transfer began Tuesday at the Heber Airport, where his remains were received before a procession carried him through Heber City, along U.S. 40, and I-80 before getting off at the Parleys Summit exit to where he lived.

Dozens of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles joined the procession.

Along the route, people stopped to watch, wave American flags and salute from roadsides and overpasses.

Jeremy Ranch resident Tom Riley was among those who came out.

"Well, we're just here out of respect for our first responders," said Riley. "It's a very unfortunate day, but we want to be here to support the community and support those people who keep us safe."

For those traveling with Cutter, the public response along the route became an emotional part of bringing him home.

"As we drove through the procession today under the bridges, the public standing and lining the road, waving with flags, saluting, those people may never know what that means to us," said Sierra Hellstrom, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service.

Hellstrom knew Cutter personally and remembered him Tuesday as someone who brought a love of people and his work to those around him.

"He was fun-loving. He was very personable. He loved his coworkers and his people, and he loved his job," said Hellstrom. "It was the light of his life, along with his wife and dog."

She said Cutter's work as a pilot had an impact far beyond those who knew him personally.

"The way our community has been able to rally around someone that meant so much to us and who helped save so many lives and so many fires, I mean, it's innumerable," she said. "The impact he had across the community, even we, I don't think, know the impact that Ryan has had."

Cutter and King were members of Precision, flying a helicopter for the Payette National Forest.

They were assigned to the Price Valley Rappel Crew, based in New Meadows, Idaho.

In a statement announcing Tuesday's dignified transfers, the U.S. Forest Service said both men were skilled pilots who had been instrumental in helping ground crews make progress on the Dome Fire.

"Tragedies of this nature serve as a reminder of the admirable work by our employees and partners," the Forest Service said. "The hardest thing we encounter as land managers is the loss of life."

King was also returned home Tuesday, with a dignified transfer to Palmer, Alaska.

Cutter was born in New Hampshire, where he was a high school ski-jump champion.

He later came to Utah to work at Utah Olympic Park and to ski, eventually making Park City home.

Following Cutter's death, former colleagues told KSL they would always hold him in high regard.

One described him as the best among them and said Cutter approached life with passion and that becoming his friend meant becoming family.

On Tuesday, many of the people who stood along Cutter's final journey home had never met him.

But for the firefighters and others traveling with him, their flags, waves and salutes made an impact.

"We share your love and support," said Hellstrom. "We cannot thank the public enough for helping us bring Ryan home in such an honorable way."

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