(Nov. 4, 2008) — Reddish-black flames hit Southern California once again. Starting at just about 2 a.m. on Oct. 12, the Marek fire struck west of Little Tujunga Canyon with three other major wildfires—Sesnon, Juliet and Chalk, which followed their course throughout other canyons during the week. As the Santa Ana winds caused the firemen many hardships with its 60 to 75 miles per hour gusts of winds, families, neighborhoods, and even some of Clark’s staff members were evacuated from their homes. English teacher Diana McGrath missed two days worth of classes after being told to leave her home, located at the base of the mountains of Kagel Canyon. “I went to my family members,” McGrath said. “I was not sure what was going to happen. It was a bit scary, and the flames were getting huge over the houses.” Portions of the 118 and 210 freeways, as well as Interstate 5, were closed as they were in the vicinity of the fire. Many Clark students were affected by road closures on their bus rides to school. “It was like only ten minutes late, and I actually wanted to be more late,” junior Beatrice Regner said. “The bus driver was just quiet about the whole thing—like no emotion.” Regner is used to the wildfires that happen in Southern California. “It’s not really a shocker ‘cause every single year something like that happens,” Regner said. “But the wind was pretty strong; it pulled me back.” The Santa Ana winds were very powerful and lasted until Oct. 14. Tragically, many mobile homes and 165 buildings were damaged. Hundreds of firefighters battled the bright orange, raging flames in the canyons as some people had no other choice than to spend their nights in evacuation shelters, not knowing if they would have homes to return to the next morning. Freshman health teacher Judy Sanzo managed to get to safety with some guidance from her husband. “The freeways were closed, and my husband—he had a map I used so I could get through” Sanzo said. “He helped guide me.” Sanzo also described her drive home that morning. Going back, the same type of blackish smoke was seen above the clouds. “I felt like I was getting lung irritation,” Sanzo said two days after the fire, “Even now my dog is gray, dirty and sooty looking.”