Approximately one min before the accident the pilot contacted the tower at Norton Air Force Base for clearance through their traffic area. He reported initially that he was at 300 ft AGL. Seconds later he transmitted that he was at 100 ft over the freeway. The request was approved at or below 2700 ft MSL while in the control zone. The helicopter first contacted wires at 100 ft AGL. It then descended into a second wire at 80 ft and a guy wire at 60 ft. Elevation at the sight was 2,400 ft MSL. The site was about 11 miles east of Norton Air Force Base in uncontrolled airspace. WX at Norton was sky partly obscured, visibility 1.5 miles in fog. Shortly after takeoff, at the request of the front seat passenger the pilots planned route of flight was changed. The pilot stated that he was aware of wires in the area and had slowed to 60 kts and turned the landing light on in order to maintain his visual lookout.