At around 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon smoke from the La Tuna Fire, a large brush fire centered in Sun Valley, began to drift into the Santa Clarita Valley.
Local officials say there is no cause for alarm, despite the drops in air quality and visibility caused by the smoke plume.
There are currently no active fires within the Santa Clarita Valley, said Supervisor Sims from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
“A lof of the smoke is wind driven and it’s coming from the La Tuna incident,” said Supervisor Sims.
The La Tuna Fire has continued to burn in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles, where the LA County Fire Department said in a press release that as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday it has scorched more than 5,000 acres with only 10% containment.
LA County Fire has ordered evacuations for residents in parts of Burbank, Glendale, Tujunga and Sunland.
Interstate 210 also remains closed as of Saturday afternoon, and California Highway Patrol has yet to state when it will reopen.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti confirmed via Twitter that the La Tuna Fire is now “the largest fire by acreage in LA City history.”
Although Santa Clarita is still far from the blaze, smoke from the fire poses its own concerns.
As of 3 p.m. Saturday AIRNow, a subsidiary of the Environmental Protection Agency tasked with monitoring air pollution, reported that Santa Clarita’s air quality had reached unhealthy levels.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recommends that residents limit outdoor exposure, avoid any strenuous activity and stressed that those in areas affected by the smoke should remain in places cooled by recirculated air conditioning.
For those who do not have access to proper air conditioning to avoid the heat and smoke, the City of Santa Clarita libraries have extended their hours to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in order to act as cooling centers.
