Three people are dead following a helicopter crash in Fairfield, Solano County Sheriff’s officials said Tuesday night.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
Officials said the crash occurred earlier in the day in the area of Blue Mountain Road near the intersection of Soda Springs Road, caused a grass fire and knocked out power to about 38,000 PG&E customers.
PG&E said power was restored at 8:21 p.m.
Lyon Road, which was closed to traffic and used for staging purposes, has reopened. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) is handling the fire investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board is overseeing the crash investigation, sheriff’s officials said.
An estimated five-acre blaze was fought both on the ground and in the air.
According to CalFire Deputy Chief Geoff Belyea with the Sonoma Lake Napa Unit, crews responded to the call shortly after 1 p.m. and were able to stop the spread around 3 p.m. with firefighters on the ground and a helicopter making water drops.
According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the helicopter was a Bell 206 helicopter and had three people on board at the time of the crash.
