Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the Tick Fire, a Canyon Country blaze that scorched over 4,600 acres and impacted an estimated 40,000 residents in what was the largest evacuation order in the history of the Santa Clarita Valley.

On Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, at approximately 1:44 p.m., a brush fire was reported near the 31000 block of Tick Canyon Road in Canyon Country. Within 20 minutes, the blaze had grown to 200 acres in size.

Less than an hour after it broke out, firefighters a full third-alarm brush response for the blaze, later naming the Tick Fire. It reached over 850 acres in size shortly before 3 p.m.

By the time firefighters had managed to slow the forward progress of the blaze three hours later, the Tick Fire was close to 5,000 acres in size. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, a resident who lives near where the fire started told KHTS at the time that he heard several loud explosions when the fire started.  

“I heard these loud booms going on outside; there was a series of them,” said John Marles at the time. “Every 10 seconds there was another loud boom. They were rattling the windows.” 

Photo by Jade Aubuchon/KHTS News

After the six explosions, Marles looked at the property next door, and saw a large plume of smoke, possibly 50 feet across, going up in the air. After seeing the smoke, he went inside, called 9-1-1 and evacuated the area.

An estimated 15,000 homes were placed under evacuation orders as a result of the fire, impacting roughly 40,000 residents in what became the largest evacuation in the history of Santa Clarita.

Within several days following the breakout of the Tick Fire, most of those evacuation orders had been lifted. But the damage had already been done.

By the time that the blaze was fully contained a week later, the Tick Fire had scorched 4,615 acres, destroyed nearly 30 structures, 23 of which were homes, and damaged an additional 44 structures.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the Tick Fire, while there were no reports of civilian casualties or injuries.

The Santa Clarita community stepped up in the days and weeks following the breakout of the Tick Fire in order to assist those impacted by the blaze. Both the Valencia vs. Saugus and Hart vs. West Ranch football games that weekend were free to attend, but offered opportunities for attendees to donate to the Red Cross. Real Life Church partnered with Santa Clarita Grocery to accept donations on behalf of the local charity on Sunday.

Both organizations sought donations to put together packages for both Cal Fire teams as well as dislodged families.

Additionally, a number of GoFundMe pages were set up to assist victims of the incident, such as the one for Golden Valley High School Teacher Amy Lamon, who lost her home in the blaze. The fundraiser brought in more than $12,000 in donations.

Photo by David Melnarik/KHTS News.

Canyon High School students hosted a “pop-up” shopping event at the school in an effort to serve the community and help those affected by the Tick Fire.

The City of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the County of Los Angeles, opened a Local Assistance Center for residents affected by the Tick Fire the following week. Organizations and agencies such as The Red Cross, the L.A. County Office of the Assessor, Public Works, the Departments of Mental Health and Public Health, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and Animal Care and Control were all present to assist.

Months later, 96 probation officers received the Department’s Medal of Merit for bravely assisting with the evacuation of youth at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall (BJNJH) and Camp Joseph Scott, located off of Bouquet Canyon Road, during both the Tick Fire and Saddleridge Fire.

“The courage demonstrated by DPO II Corbett and the staff at BJNJH and Camp Scott during the Saddleridge and Tick fires show how selfless and dedicated our employees are,” said Los Angeles County Interim Chief Probation Officer Ray Leyva at the time. “These brave and hard-working individuals are just a small representation of the amazing people that make up the L.A. County Probation Department, trying every day to make a difference in our client’s lives.”

To see a full list of KHTS coverage of the Tick Fire, click here.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.