A tree caught fire Thursday afternoon in Saugus, resulting in temporary street closures and residents piling out of their homes onto the street.
Esteban Benitez, an L.A. County Fire Department spokesman, confirmed that units were called to the scene of a possible structure fire at 2:30 p.m. on the 27000 block of Garza Drive in Saugus.
“It’s a large tree, fully involved,” said Benitez.
At 2:52 p.m., forward progress on the fire was stopped and no damaged structures or injuries were reported.
Deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to the scene to block off traffic so the responding Fire Department personnel could get through.
Officials later stated that the fire had spread into brush between homes, reaching a quarter-acre in size.
David Caro, a witness to the fire who lives in a house above the embankment, said he was startled by the abrupt appearance of smoke and fire outside his window.
“I was just sleeping in my bed and my brother came yelling and, like, screaming. I was like, ‘What the heck?’ and I ran outside and the flames [were] coming up,” said Caro. “Him and his girlfriend were just like, screaming, because they saw a fire or ashes coming, from the window.”
The fire was largely on a brush embankment between Catala Avenue and Garza Drive. Fire Capt. Dougherty said that an arson investigation was going to be underway as first responders were unable to confirm the cause or the starting point of the fire.
The incident was named the #GarzaIC. There is no additional information at the time of this publication.
Signal Staff Writer Trevor Morgan contributed to this report.
