Updated at 3:52 a.m. ET: Federal investigators were sifting through the wreckage Sunday of a helicopter crash at a well-known movie and TV production ranch that killed three people.

The 3:40 a.m. local time (6:40 a.m. ET) crash happened on the site of the Polsa Rosa Movie Ranch in Acton, Calif., on the northwestern edge of the Angeles National Forest about 30 miles north of Los Angeles.

The pilot and two passengers aboard the Bell 206 JetRanger died, officials said. Their identities were not immediately released.

A movie was reportedly being shot at the time, a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispater said. Signs for Bongo Productions were posted near the ranch, but officials could not confirm if that there was production under way during the crash.

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The ranch is a movie, TV show and commercial location offered for rent to production companies. It has two airstrips and "miles of roads," according to its website.

City News Service contributed to this report.