A firefighting helicopter crashed in Southern California while fighting a blaze, officials say

CABAZON, Calif. (AP) — A firefighting helicopter crashed in Southern California on Sunday while fighting a blaze in Riverside County, emergency officials said.

The helicopter was performing work under contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, fire captain and spokesman Richard Cordova said.

Sheriff’s deputies responded at 7:20 p.m. PDT to an air emergency in the area of Pipeline Road and Apache trail as crews were battling the Broadway fire near Cabazon, according to a post by the Riverside County Sheriff’s office on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The department is still investigating the crash and whether other aircraft were involved, Cordova said.

Details were not immediately available on the number of injuries or fatalities.