WATCH: Air Tanker Drops Fire Retardant Over LA Hillside Blaze With ‘Surgical Precision’

An air tanker took several passes over a smoldering hillside in Los Angeles County on Friday afternoon and dropped red fire retardant on a blaze with “surgical precision,” CNN’s Boris Sanchez commented after CNN viewers waited for more than half an hour to see if the plane’s pilot would be successful.

During a fourth straight day of LA County fires that have claimed at least 10 lives and devastated thousands of homes, firefighters battled them from the ground and from the air.

One such tanker lined up to drop chemical retardant over a blaze in Granada Hills that popped up Friday and spread quickly.

During CNN News Central, the network carried a live feed from Los Angeles CBS affiliate KCAL of the tanker following a guide plane to slow the spread of the flames. Just after 12:45 p.m. local time, the aircraft dropped its payload over flames that were approaching a hillside home.

Sanchez commented, “You might recall, we were tracking this plane in the air. This air tanker dropping fire retardant with surgical precision to the archer fire near the Granada Hills area of Los Angeles County. That archer fire sparked in just the last few hours.”

According to Fox11 Los Angeles, the Archer fire began just after 11:40 a.m. PT and quickly scorched 31 acres. The outlet added firefighters were able to quickly stop the “forward progress” of the inferno:

The Los Angeles Fire Department quickly issued mandatory evacuation orders and warnings, however around 11:45 a.m., all evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings and all pre-existing warnings were lifted.

The current warnings include the areas east of Balboa Blvd., west of Tampa Ave., south of Sesnon Blvd. and north of Sunshine Canyon Road.

Northbound Balboa Blvd. near Knollwood is temporarily closed.

Watch above via CNN and KCAL.