EVERETT – A Marysville man who owned an Everett timber company died Thursday in a helicopter crash that sparked a major forest fire in Eastern Washington, officials said.
Robert Hagerman, 64, chartered the helicopter out of Seattle on Thursday to show two Korean customers a potential timber sale, said Kittitas County Undersheriff Clayton Myers.
Crews recovered three of the bodies Friday, but the fourth would not be recovered until today as the investigation continues, Myers said.
It took a while for authorities to reach the crash site because the forest fire and mountainous terrain made access difficult, he said.
Hagerman was remembered Friday as a friendly man with a love of family and a passion for the timber business.
“He was just a really great man, a good husband and a really good father,” his daughter, Angela Rae Hagerman, of Kirkland, said.
Hagerman spent 40 years in the logging business. For the past 20 years, he’s run Formark Forest Marketing Enterprise, Inc., a company that buys and sells logs worldwide, she said.
“Bob has always been really interested not only in the timber business but also its overseas connections,” said John Mohr, executive director for the Port of Everett. “He was a genuinely nice guy, and I’m going to miss him.”
On Thursday, Hagerman was with two Korean nationals, Si Lee, 45 and Hyun Song, 44, when the helicopter crashed, Myers said.
Also on board was Seattle-based pilot Keiko Minakata of Classic Helicopter, a charter company, he said.
The chopper crash is blamed for a growing 485-acre forest fire in steep, difficult-to-reach terrain near Easton, east of Snoqualmie pass, said Scott Crawford. He’s a spokesman for nearly 400 firefighters from around the state who are battling the blaze.
As of Friday afternoon, the fire was not contained, but crews hoped to make progress overnight, Crawford said.
A challenging aspect of the fire is that there is only one way to reach the blaze, he said.
“Whenever we’re faced with that, we have to pay attention to the safety aspect of everything we do,” he said.
Limited access puts firefighters at risk of being trapped, he said.
Investigators from the National Traffic Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were expected to arrive today to try to determine what caused the crash, Myers said.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the helicopter fell from the sky, he said.
Helicopter crashes aren’t unheard of in the timber industry, said Ron Smith, general manager of Buse Enterprises, another Everett-based timber operation.
People throughout the industry were phoning each other Friday with news of the crash, Smith said. Hagerman was well-known among timber executives around Puget Sound.
“He was sort of a self-made entrepreneur,” he said. “He was a very friendly guy and liked to talk with just about anybody anytime.”
A phone call from a logger alerted friends and family in Everett to the crash, Angela Hagerman said.
The family was still waiting to learn details from officials Friday afternoon.
Through tears, she described her father as someone who loved spending time with his children, step-children and grandchildren.
He loved food, especially barbecues, she said.
“It didn’t really matter what he cooked – a lot of steak – you name it, he’ll eat it,” she said.
She said her father had a strong work ethic, was curious by nature and had a childlike quality.
On a recent trip to the Seattle Center, she said she and her father rode one of the carnival rides together.
In addition to his children, he is survived by his wife, Lindy.
“We’re just taking it day by day, hour by hour,” Angela Hagerman said. “He will be missed by so many people, family and friends.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@ heraldnet.com.
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