Mass Evacuations Ordered As Tick Fire Engulfs 4,000 Acres In LA County

A wildfire driven forth by gusts of strong winds and dry bushes and shrubs engulfed nearly 4,000 acres of land prompting the evacuations of at least 40,000 people in the Los Angeles Neighborhood.

A fire broke out on Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m. in the vicinity of Tick Canyon Road, earning the name Tick Fire, which spread quickly due to strong Santa Ana winds and dry to medium brush downhill. The blaze covered more than 850 acres in one hour.

As of Thursday evening, the fire had spread to 3,950 acres in Canyon Country.

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for all residents in areas of Soledad Canyon Road to Shadow Pines Boulevard along the 14 freeway. Residents in the areas of Vasquez Canyon Road, north and east of Plum Canyon, north and east of Whites Canyon Road and Davenport Road east of Sierra Highway were also asked to evacuate.

40,000 people alone were evacuated from their homes according to the L.A County Fire Department.

The fires spread so quickly that it was becoming difficult for authorities to put out evacuation orders before the flames reached the people. Some residents were also seen running from their homes as the flames approached, but no injuries have been reported.

According to an 8 p.m. update released by L.A County Fire Department and L.A County Sheriff Department, almost 10,000 structures were threatened because of the fire. Officials said at least 6 homes had burned and the number is bound to rise as the situation progresses.

A team of 500 fire personnel, 100 fire engines, 6 helicopters, and four air tankers have been assigned to tackle the blaze. They were expected to battle the flames overnight by looking to build containment lines, protecting structures and maintaining tactical patrol. However, the task became difficult as they were faced with strong winds on Thursday evening, which was expected to continue till Friday.

L.A County Fire Chief Daryl Osby warned the residents to vigilante, as there were chances of the fire being intensified.

“Do not be lulled by the fact that you may not see any open flames right now, because there are plenty of hot spots out in the incident. We will have firefighters out all night trying to work on those hot spots and trying to work on increasing our containment line,” he said.

An evacuation center was set up at the College of the Canyons, the Valencia campus gym at 17200 Sierra Highway, Santa Clarita by the red cross. County sheriffs and fire officials were looking for areas to repopulate the evacuated people. Schools and Colleges in the area were shut down owing to the wildfire and the air quality.

Multiple blazes were reported in California along with the Tick Fire because of the October heat and dry winds. A fire had broken out in Castaic Area, only a few miles away from Canyon Country, which destroyed homes and threatened to cause more damages.