New video released Monday shows Los Angeles fire officials pause their work dropping water on the Woolsey Fire to rescue three people and two dogs who were stuck in a remote area of the Santa Monica Mountains one day after the deadly blaze broke out, officials said.
Pilots David Nordquist and Joel Smith were battling the blaze in an L.A. Fire Department helicopter on Friday, Nov. 9, when they received a request to perform a rescue at Castro Peak, the agency said in a news release.
That morning, powerful winds fanning the blaze propelled it to double in size in less than two hours, bringing it to 8,000 acres.
The video begins as the pilots are making their way across smoky hillsides dotted with houses under threat from the fire. The helicopter then heads into a large, thick smoke column towering above the topography.