Share:

The historic La Tuna Canyon fire that burned a total 7,194 acres has reached 80% containment as of Tuesday morning according to the Los Angeles Times.

Fueled by the recent heat wave, a small brush fire that began in La Tuna Canyon on Thursday rapidly grew into the largest fire by acreage in Los Angeles history and prompted mandatory evacuations that reached a peak of 700 evacuees.

“We hit this hard, we hit it fast and we’ve done everything we can, and we’re proud to say out of those nearly 1,400 homes, only five have been destroyed and that we’ve been really able to jump from 30% to 70% containment,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said early to the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an emergency declaration on Saturday, freeing up all of the city’s resources to protect residents and property, while California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

“We are grateful for the men and women of LAFD, and all of our partner agencies, for their heroic efforts to bring the fire under control and to keep people and their homes safe,” Garcetti told the Times.

The fire shut down a swath of the 210 freeway but has now been reopened as of Monday, had raised concerns about the air quality in the immediate and surrounding areas.

According to AIRNOW.gov, the air quality in Pasadena is currently Moderate (73) and is no longer projected to reach unhealthy levels as was previously reported.

The Courier reached out to Superintendent-President Rajen Vurdien on whether next week’s classes would be cancelled due to air quality concerns.

“We are always concerned about the health of our students. We are monitoring the air quality and will make our decisions based on prevailing air conditions on Tuesday morning,” Vurdien said through email. “We hope for the best for our students living in the affected areas.”

The Courier will continue to follow and update this story as more information becomes available.

Follow: