(October 7, 2009) — In late August, many residents in the La Crescenta-La Cañada area found themselves packing to escape the Station fire. One resident, senior Ben Caryan, had to unpack and then re-pack his clothes due to a mandatory evacuation. He had just returned from Lebanon two days earlier and was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed. But as soon as he came back, he had to flee to the refuge of his aunt’s home, just beyond the evacuation zone. He was allowed to return home when the fire moved into the forest regions, away from the foothill communities. When Caryan returned home, he was thankful that the fire didn’t burn his house because he knew that this fire—a fire which ultimately grew larger than 150,000 acres—had left hundreds devastated. Many residents living in the La Crescenta-La Cañada area were worried because in the first few weeks, the media reported that less than 5% of the fire was contained. Residents were recommended to stay indoors because the smoke made it difficult to breathe and irritated the eyes. Ashes from the burning vegetation snowed down and covered the La Crescenta area. “My whole pool was covered in ashes,” senior Lana Mousessian said. “But I was lucky that the fire didn’t come near my house.” As the fire crawled down the mountain, homeowners living on the mountainside were forced to evacuate. “They had cop cars at every street so that no one could go up,” Caryan said. “This was the first time I ever experienced anything like this.” By Sept. 4, the fire was 42% contained by the hard work of firefighters from all over, including Canada, who came to help control the blazing flames, as reported in the Glendale News-Press . Firefighters fought the fire from the ground with hoses and from above with helicopters and planes that released fire retardant. Many firefighters said that it would have been almost impossible to subdue the fire if it wasn’t for the aircraft, according to Fox 11 News. Especially when the fire was approaching Mt. Wilson, the aircraft was of great use because it took a while for firefighters to reach the top of the mountain. Mt. Wilson is a home to many communication and broadcast towers, and many residents would have lost their television and cell phone signals if the fire had reached the summit. The fire also postponed the first day of school for all schools in the Glendale Unified School District for three days because of the poor air quality; schools began on Thursday, Sept. 3. Some residents were able to return home only two days before the beginning of school. Science teacher Gerald Gruss returned home with his wife and children on Tuesday after his mandatory evacuation. He said he wasn’t worried about his home too much because knew that his home would be safe as long as the fire stayed on the north side of the ridge. He was mainly worried that the bad air quality might be harmful to his children. The fire also caused dangerous conditions in the mountain areas, making it more likely for landslides and falling rocks. The fire is no longer threatening residents of the La Crescenta-Cañada area, but it left many people devastated. According to Fox 11 News, the fire caused about 81 injuries and the death of two firefighters, Captain Tedmund Hall, 47, and fire specialist Arnaldo Quinones, 35. Also, according to Fox 11 News, over 82 homes have been destroyed. The fire cost over $49 million dollars to fight only near the La Crescenta-La Cañada area. It was recorded as one of the biggest fires ever in California.