By Charly SHELTON

Mandatory evacuations for the Glenwood Oaks and Mountain Oaks areas of the Crescenta Valley were issued this afternoon not long after a morning press conference by safety personnel. Crescenta Valley High School, 2900 Community Ave. in La Crescenta, and Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Road, have been established as evacuation centers.

At 10:30 this morning (Saturday), Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti met with LA Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas, local city council members, State Senator Anthony Portantino and other fire and police officials to hold a press conference at the incident command post to update the public on the La Tuna Fire. This area has not burned in 45 years, so the overgrowth of brush and dry fuel makes this a hotbed for continued burn. The fire, which started yesterday (Friday) at approximately 1:30 p.m. in a ditch alongside La Tuna Canyon Road, has now expanded to over 5,000 acres and, with the high temperatures, low humidity and erratic wind conditions, the footprint is ever expanding on all fronts.

Air resources, ground crews with dozen equipment and more than 500 firefighters from several agencies and departments are currently fighting the blaze and more resources, including four more fixed wing water dropping planes, have been requested from the state government. In all, only one home has been lost – a home on Verdugo Crestline Drive at Alene Drive at the water tank. Mayor Garcetti said despite the nearly 800 structures threatened, the fact that only one has been burned and no injuries have been reported is amazing.

“As a reminder, there are 29 active fires in the state of California right now. We also have a lot of resources in Houston. So the fact that we are able to attack this fire with the sort of resources and the success we’ve had so far is testament to the men and women that are here,” Mayor Garcetti said. “That is a pretty amazing thing when you look at a fire that’s now over 5,000 acres, about 10% contained, but I do want to emphasize this is not a qualitative term because it’s more than 10% confined.

“Containment is when you have a hard line, but we’ve confined this fire – we just don’t have 100% security that it can’t jump. It would depend on the weather today, so all of us are hoping that the winds stay calm like they are right now.”

LA Fire Dept. Chief Terrazas credits cooperation as a key factor in a successful fire fight, but the fire mechanics are heavily reliant on how the wind behaves and how the footprint grows.

“I attribute [the thus-far successful effort] to our excellent partnership with Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and LA County Fire department. We are working well together, we know how to do this, we were here about a year ago for the Sand Fire, which was burning in the other direction,” said Chief Terrazas. “I did return from flying the perimeter of this fire and helicopter and had eyes on all parts of the fire. The fire behavior is a slow burning fire for the most part. It’s a backing fire, meaning that it burns down the hill, and at the base of those hills are some homes, so we’re making sure that our fire engines are deployed so they can protect those homes when the fire gets there.

“Occasionally things will come into alignment where it’s burning uphill, and will climb the canyon or wash and accelerate uphill, so we’re dealing with that. The biggest factor is the weather and winds. The wind yesterday afternoon was very erratic, it switched multiple times. This morning, not so much. So we’re constantly evaluating the wind.”

In addition to the those listed above, mandatory evacuations have been declared in LA City at the McGroarty Park area (McGroarty to Valaho in Tujunga), Wormon x Sunland (Sunland). Evacuees to shelter at Sunland Park at 8651 Foothill Blvd.

Voluntary evacuations declared for Aileen x Hillhaven (Tujunga), McGroarty from Oro Vista to Plainview (Tujunga). Reverier area – Alene Drive to Hillhaven Avenue, Reverier, Glen O Peace Parkway, Tranquil Drive, Inspiration Way, Tranquil Place, Hillhaven Place (Tujunga).

Haines Canyon area: Charrick Drive, Charrick Place, Estepa Drive, Wexlord Drive (Tujunga).

Sunland: Shadow Island Drive, Wormom Avenue south of Sunland.

“We are worried about the fire hooking to the southeast into Glendale and working its way up from there. The Whiting Woods area is a place of thick brush and that’s an area where you have the brush right there with homes, quite expensive homes,” Mayor Garcetti said. “We also have, on the other end of the spectrum, people who live in encampments who are in this area and, of course, we’re gonna be putting all of our resources into making sure that unhoused Angelenos and others who may have been living in some of these canyons, that we make sure they are okay and make sure they get the help that they need as well.”

In total as of 10:30 a.m., 300 homes in Burbank, more than 250 homes in Glendale and 180 homes in LA are within the mandatory and voluntary evacuation zones, with more structures and utility lines threatened as well. For those who live in the evacuation areas, it is imperative that they leave when asked to. They are advised to prepare a bag and load a car, so when the knock on the door comes, they can leave quickly and safely.

Mayor Garcetti, Chief Terrazas and everyone else who spoke at the press conference has reiterated this point: it is about safety of homes and residents above all else. After residents evacuate, police officers will patrol the neighborhoods to keep an eye on the homes and firefighters will position themselves between the fire and the property lines. If the situation changes rapidly and flames do approach, Glendale Mayor Vartan Gharpetian advised taking emergency action.

“This is the time that we understand how important it is to clear the brush around our homes and I know in Glendale some of the hillside neighborhoods have pumps hooked up to their pool water, so they can be used in case of emergency,” Mayor Gharpetian said.

Anyone in the LA area who is not near the blaze is still affected as the air quality plummets on a hot day. Temperatures are expected to be in the triple digits today, with cooler temps and possible rain hitting LA tomorrow.

“We’re encouraging people for the air quality and for their own health to stay inside. Where you can, get to places which have air filters, fire can be very damaging to your health,” Mayor Garcetti said.

A cooling station has been established at Sparr Heights Community Center, 1603 Glencoe Way.