mayor richard bissen, who'd taken office just months before, arrived early. radio updates he was getting from the police and fire departments were spotty and delayed. >> we lost all power from earlier that day. so, for most people, there was no internet or phones. i don't know how everybody else was communicating. i know how we were, and that was listening to one person with one radio telling us what was happening. we were not getting real-time information. >> narrator: that morning, the state had offered additional resources to help fight the fires, but by late afternoon, the county was still trying to handle the situation on its own. and soon, a fourth fire would ignite, stretching first responders' capacity even further. >> the wind just took everything and just sped it up super fast. and i was like, "oh my god, this is so messed up. we're so undermanned right now." (beeping, indistinct yelling) (click, beeping stops) >> we were getting told that the fire was absolutely evolving, it was spreading, it was moving, it was quick-- average given day, average sh