Cal Fire

Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said the agency and its partners are equipped with with fire trucks, bulldozers, and newly introduced Blackhawk helicopters that can fly at night.

The helicopters were responding to a vegetation fire that spread from a nearby structure fire. One helicopter made a safe landing with no injuries, while all in the second helicopter were killed.

Experts warn that Western states and the federal government need to radically increase the number and size of controlled burns to help reduce the ongoing risks of more catastrophic wildfire seasons.

The unprecedented fire season has already killed 30 people, and burned down thousands of buildings and homes, forcing over 96,000 residents to evacuate.

The utility says widespread dry northeast winds reaching 45 to 60 mph with gusts of 60 to 70 mph at higher elevations raise the potential for a massive outages to prevent more wildfires.

The Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California's history, has killed at least 56 people. On Wednesday, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said 130 people are still missing.

Both Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison had warned customers that the companies might need to shut off power because of heightened fire risks.

As fall — usually California's busiest fire season — approaches, officials say the agency that oversees emergency fire responses is running out of money.