On Friday afternoon, the winds across the Santa Monica Mountains suddenly shifted, and the Palisades fire pushed north and east, making a run in two different directions: toward Encino and Brentwood.
Across the southern San Fernando Valley and West L.A., terrified Angelenos watched as leaping flames and massive plumes of smoke continued to rise over ridgelines well into the night, worried that the already catastrophic blaze could devastate new parts of the city.
But this time, there were two critical differences in the firefight: There was a squadron of massive water- and retardant-dropping aircraft at the ready, and winds — although strong — still allowed for them to take flight.
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