I am not up for deployment in the near future, and I am actually thankful. While I would go in a second to help, I hate fighting fire in California for a number of reason... You listed the primary reason; predictably, unpredictable fire behavior due to super dry, fast winds that very few windows to get ahead of the flames.

California is built to burn... I don't know if there will ever be a complete solution.

Anyway, good luck and be Safe!