Aircraft battling fires raging through the Los Angeles area are dropping more than water: Hundreds of thousands of gallons of hot-pink fire suppressant ahead of the flames in a desperate effort to stop them before they destroy more neighborhoods.

A total of 20 Mainers will spend two weeks providing relief in southern California, where resources have been stretched thin due to the magnitude of the ongoing fires.

At least two of the people killed in the Southern California wildfires tried to protect the homes where they raised families and lived for decades, while another stayed behind with his son who had cerebral palsy and could not evacuate.