When the Easy fire erupted early Wednesday morning in Simi Valley, the stakes of this particular firefight quickly came into focus:
Save the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The pre-dawn blaze, stoked by strong easterly winds, was racing toward the hilltop compound surrounded by nearly 100 acres of rolling grasslands.
Long vulnerable to wildfire, the library had taken efforts to protect the facility — where Ronald and Nancy Reagan are buried — but this particular assault was unprecedented.
Maneuvering amid 60-mph winds, helicopters circled, unleashing their water drops behind the library. Two super-scooper planes swooped low to hit the advancing flames with such an inundation that it created a rainbow in the morning sun.
Every two minutes, a new rotation of choppers or super-scoopers dipped into the canyon behind the library, turning fire into smoke.