Phillip ” Pip” Conner, 29, a seasonal firefighter with the National Park Service at the Lake Mead National Recreation area and a member of a Helitack crew based there, was killed August 3, 2000, when a helicopter crashed while battling the 3,600-acre Charlie fire in Elko County. The Bell 206 Jet Ranger he was in had been carrying water and supplies at the fire when it took off about 7 p.m to return to Wells for the night. It rolled after taking off and the main rotor hit the ground.
Conner was a 1989 graduate of Chaparral High School and a Gulf War veteran who served three years in the Navy. According to Conner’s mother, Carolyn Conner, he spent much of his free time ministering to youths at Central Christian Church. He was working his fourth year for the National Park Service at Lake Mead as a summer seasonal firefighter when he passed. His mother said his life’s dream was to be a firefighter and he had fulfilled that dream.