As the residents of the Los Angeles area went about their Friday, some were quick to notice that the sky was turning an unusually pink color. Since not many fires had occurred this year, the idea that it could be a fire was not out of reach and was actually correct, as many found out later on.

What is known as the La Tuna Fire began Sept. 1, and burned over 7,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in Los Angeles history, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Seen from many cities in Los Angeles County, it may have been an interesting sight but unfortunately resulted in property damage and even injuries.

“I saw the mountains in flames, basically, and the firefighters couldn’t put it out,” said Clark sophomore Jeremiah Bennett, who lives in the La Crescenta area. “They didn’t ask me to evacuate as the fire was in the Burbank area.”

After starting in the Sun Valley area, the fire quickly spread toward the 210 Freeway, thus endangering drivers, and then posed a threat to Burbank as it moved through the Verdugo Mountains. By the end of the day it was around 2,000 acres in size and had only been ten percent contained.

Garcetti did not hesitate to declare the fire a local emergency and even urged Gov. Jerry Brown to call a state of emergency. As this went on, numerous homes in Glendale, Burbank and the Sunland-Tujunga area faced the risk of burning.

Some who were ordered to evacuate declined to do so. In one such instance, resources such as aircraft had to be diverted to rescue one individual who did not want to leave, according to LA Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas.

As of Sept. 6, the fire had destroyed five homes and forced the evacuation of 300 people. Interestingly, the root cause of the fire is still under investigation and has not been determined.