On Friday afternoon, winds suddenly changed across the Santa Monica Mountains and the Palisades Fire spread north and east, heading in two different directions: toward Encino and Brentwood.
In the southern San Fernando Valley and west Los Angeles, terrified Angelenos watched as leaping flames and huge plumes of smoke continued to rise over ridges late into the night , fearing that the already catastrophic fire would devastate new parts of the city.
But this time, there were two critical differences in the firefight: There was a squadron of massive planes dropping water and retardants at the ready, and the winds – although strong – still allowed them to take their flight.
So the pilots got to work.
The next 24 hours turned into an all-out attack of air assets, with enough helicopters responding to the resurgent fire that helicopters were at times lined up, just waiting for the order to make their next drop. Conveniently located water sources, particularly the Encino Reservoir — less than a mile from the northern front of the fire — also helped speed the filling of the reservoirs, officials said.
And although the fire eventually grew to about 1,000 acres and likely damaged or destroyed some homes, the massive surge prevented the flames from spreading again into urban areas. By Saturday evening, much of the region had breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Honestly, a lot of it had to do with the amount of resources we had, the fact that everyone was informed and everyone was ready,” said Department of Forestry and Conservation Battalion Chief Sean Preader. California Fire Department, specializing in aviation. “Even though we were ready on day one…we still didn’t have as many resources as we did on Friday, and that’s honestly a big part of our success – and not just in the air but on the ground as well.”
Unlike Tuesday’s chaos — when planes were grounded during a key part of the initial firefight due to winds gusting up to 80 mph — Friday’s air attack into Saturday was key to put an end to another disastrous fire.
“We had so many planes that there was no interruption in the firefight,” said Jim Hudson, Cal Fire incident commander for the Palisades fire. “They’ll go around the area, get permission to enter, they’ll go down, they’ll fill up. It’s just a constant cycle. …It was a lot; that was what was needed.
A firefighter stands guard at a home on Mandeville Canyon Road as the Palisades Fire spread toward Encino early Saturday.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Flight trackers showed the fleet circling between Encino Canyon and the northern front of the fire Friday evening, as well as in Mandeville Canyon, east of the fire.
With that amount of air support, crews dropped more than 650,000 gallons of water on the fire from 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, Preader said — about half of which was dropped overnight from Friday to Saturday.
“It’s huge,” he said, noting that it was by far the largest amount of water released in a 24-hour period after the Palisades fire. “That day, it was all hands on deck. »
Under unified command among multiple fire departments, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft had been prepared from several neighboring jurisdictions, as well as from across the state, country and Canada. Brett Willis, battalion chief for aerial operations for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said at least three sizes of helicopters were flying during the attack, including those capable of holding 480, 1,000 and 2,500 gallons of water. water, as well as the fixed-wing aircraft. which mainly dropped the self-timer. He estimated there were more than a dozen planes on fire at different times Friday and Saturday. Capt. Erik Scott, a spokesman for the LAFD and Palisades Fire Department, said more than 40 helicopters were assigned to the fire at that time, as well as several fixed-wing aircraft shared between area fires. .
“It was constant,” Willis said.
He remembers flying over the fire early Friday, worrying about how a change in weather could threaten Mandeville Canyon, a small, wealthy area of Brentwood.
“If the weather changes, if we get windy, we have a real chance of losing Mandeville if we’re not careful,” Willis recalled.
And that’s exactly what happened, as winds shifted from a typical current off Santa Ana to an onshore current, further fueling the fire.
“We observed the wind changing very slowly and we ordered the planes to leave our helibase,” Willis said. “Very quickly we went from about three or four planes on a very quiet fire to 12 planes, with heavy helicopters, and preparing the air attack on command of fixed-wing aircraft.”
As the fire moved north and east with these new winds, authorities called for the evacuation of Brentwood and the hills of Encino and Tarzana. Flames collided with established fire lines along Mulholland Drive and jumped over lines west of Mandeville Canyon.
On Saturday morning, fixed-wing aircraft joined the fight.
“The fixed-wing plane that dropped a retardant just hit this area,” Willis said. “It was absolutely necessary, and that was probably what was the turning point, saving the rest of that area.”
Not only did planes refuel at Encino Reservoir, but they also received water from Stone Canyon Reservoir, just above Highway 405, and at several nearby locations where planes can refuel at the hydrants. fire, including in Topanga, Willis said. He estimated that some helicopters could make a drop, refuel and drop back down within 10 to 20 minutes, if needed. In some cases, they were waiting in line, waiting to be sent to a hot spot or fire line, Hudson said.
“They just line them up,” Hudson said. “They travel 12 miles to their turn, and then it’s a constant rotation. … They arrive, delayers, the next plane takes off, delayers. They just build this line and connect the dots. They’ll reload and they’re back in the stack.
Although the air attack proved crucial, Willis said it only worked in coordination with ground teams.
“It’s a total team effort; we just have different jobs,” Willis said. “But with the geographic scope that needed to be covered and the volume of fires we were seeing with fire behavior we had never seen before…we knew that aerial firefighting was going to be a critical component.”
After spending much of Friday evening watching constant dripping water and hoping the fire wouldn’t threaten her Tarzana home, Sarah Cohen said she was impressed by the firefighting efforts .
“They deserve a parade and bonuses,” Cohen said Saturday.
Even though the fire rages and the winds remain a concern, it’s hard to feel much relief, but Willis says he’s proud of what they accomplished Friday and Saturday.
“With all of this devastation or loss, we had a lot of success, a lot of stops,” Willis said. “And I think air assets have been an absolute key enabler for large-scale economies.”
Times Staff Writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.
