Naval Academy Grad Dies Fighting Australian Bushfires

ANNAPOLIS, MD — First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson, a Naval Academy graduate, was one of three American military veteran firefighters killed Thursday when their C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed while helping extinguish bushfires in Australia. The other two firefighters who died are Capt. Ian McBeth and Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr. The cause of the crash is unknown.

Hudson had retired from the Marine Corps as a highly decorated lieutenant colonel, according to Stars and Stripes. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1999 and served the Marine Corps in a variety of positions, including as a C-130 pilot. He resided in Arizona at the time of his death.

The three had been battling bushfires in the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales when their plane lost contact with ground crews about 1:45 p.m. The plane crashed and exploded into a massive fireball, local newspapers reported. Emergency responders found only the tail of the aircraft intact.

Coulson Aviation, which owned the plane and is based in Oregon, said in a statement that one of its Lockheed large air tankers was lost after it left Richmond in New South Wales with retardant for a firefighting mission. It said the accident was "extensive" but offered few other details.

The latest tragedy brings the death toll from the blazes to at least 31 since September, the Associated Press reported. The fires also have destroyed more than 2,600 homes and burned more than 25.7 million acres.