The 43-year-old man was the only person on board and was trying to drop water onto a blaze in extremely rugged terrain near Ulladulla, south of Sydney, when his plane went down, Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said. ‘He’s a husband with young children and we’re all acutely aware that there’s a family suffering... because their dad hasn’t come home,’ an emotional Fitzsimmons said, pausing to compose himself. ‘We’re also feeling for the firefighting community.’ More than 100 wildfires have killed one resident and destroyed more than 200 homes in New South Wales state this month. Sixty-one fires were burning on Thursday, with 23 out of control, though cooler weather had decreased the fire threat and residents who evacuated had returned to their homes. Officials were trying to access the crash site, but the steep terrain and wind was making it difficult, New South Wales police Superintendent Joe Cassar said. ‘We are trying to recover the pilot from the scene but are being challenged by weather conditions and nearby fire,’ Cassar told reporters in Nowra, a city near Ulladulla. Investigators revealed a military training exercise with live ordnance ignited the largest of the wildfires.