A massive vegetation fire dubbed the Tasha Fire broke out in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County on Saturday, August 8.
As per WatchDuty, which tracks fire outbreaks across the US, it has burned 10 acres as of the time of writing. The fire is reportedly in the area of Sierra Highway south of Needham Ranch Parkway in California.
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station issued an update on the situation, saying “Emergency crews are currently responding to the Tasha Fire, a vegetation fire near Sierra Highway and Needham Ranch Parkway. Residents and motorists are asked to avoid the area and use alternate routes while emergency personnel work to contain the fire.”
The City of Santa Clarita also issued an advisory, saying “Use alternate routes, Expect delays, Do not interfere with emergency operations.”
A cause for the fire is not immediately known, and no injuries have been reported.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shared a map showing the blaze and areas under evacuation.
“The Los Angeles County Emergency Operations Center has declared evacuation orders for the following zones within Santa Clarita: SCL-CALGROVE, SCL-ETERNAL, SCL-WILDWOOD”, they wrote, adding “The Los Angeles County Emergency Operations Center has declared an evacuation warning for the following zones within Santa Clarita: LAC-E119-C, LAC-E132-A, SCL-DELPRADO, SCL-MARKET, SCL-NEWHALLPASS, SCL-VALLEDELORO, STV-E109-B.”
A local page shared photos of the firefighting efforts and wrote “Tasha Fire Burns Near Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita, Prompts Evacuation Requests.”
Another person shared a photo from the road and wrote “Me and my mom are heading back from Will Rogers State Beach when all of the sudden, in the Hills of Santa Clarita, Newhall Canyon is on FIRE!! Those who are living close to the area please stay calm and DO NOT BREATHE INTO THE SMOKY FIRE WHERE A MASK IF YOU CAN!!”.
Yet another local page shared videos of the blaze.
“Fire off Sierra Highway Saturday afternoon,” they wrote. A video on X showed smoke from the Tasha Fire.
“This is the Tasha Fire burning in Santa Clarita next to Sierra Hwy. Sierra is affected a little south of Needham Ranch Pkwy so use the 14 instead. As of now the 5 and 14 are fine,” the local journalist wrote.
The Tasha Fire drew several reactions. “Who is starting all of these fires?,” one asked. Another praised the first responders and wrote “Thank you firemen for what you do. Is so hot out there!!”.
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More
