Video: What it looks like when a helicopter flies into a wildfire

This video, from the Los Angeles Fire Department, is as compelling — maybe, more so — as anything that’s come out of the California wildfires so far.

The crew was dropping water on the so-called Woolsey Fire earlier this month when it got a call to rescue people trapped on a mountain top.

As the video, shows, the helicopter had to fly into thick smoke, and avoid transmission towers, vehicles, and trees. Oh, and they were getting low on fuel. And, of course, there was this fast-approaching fire.

When a pilot says, “this isn’t good,” it usually precedes disaster.

The pilot filmed the incident with a camera on his helmet. Notice him shifting between watching the approaching victims and watching the approaching flames.

(h/t: Leonard Foonimin)