La Tuna Fire: 5,800 Acres Burned In Los Angeles (UPDATES)

The La Tuna fire that broke out Friday afternoon in the Sun Valley area and is believed to be the largest brush fire in Los Angeles history has burned 5,800 acres as of Saturday evening and is 10 percent contained.

Evacuation orders issued Friday evening are still in place. More than 300 Los Angeles firefighters are tackling the blaze and so far no injuries reported. Firefighters from neighboring areas are also responding to the blaze and over 500 firefighters altogether are battling the slow-moving fire that is burning down hill.

On Friday, authorities said about 50 homes were threatened by the fire. Mandatory evacuations are in place for several streets in the Brace Canyon Park Area. According to the LAFD, the evacuations apply to Haven Way from Joaquin Drive to the top, Olney Place, Ramey Place, Mystic View Place and Viewcrest Drive. In addition to those areas, Burbank police also issued an evacuation for Stough Canyon Nature Center, Burbank Estates and Wildwood Canyon.

The latest evacuation order was issued for Groton Drive and Hamline Place east of Stephen Road. As of late Saturday morning, police said evacuations had been lifted for residents living on Amigos Drive south of Haven Way and Antigua Drive south of Haven Way. The latest evacuation orders will be posted on the Burbank Police Facebook page and on Twitter.

The LAFD also issued new mandatory evacuations Saturday afternoon for the McGroarty Park area (McGroarty to Valaho in Tujunga), Wormon and Sunland (Sunland). Evacuees can shelter at Sunland Park at 8651 Foothill Boulevard.

More than 700 homes have been evacuated in Burbank, Glendale and Los Angeles, and fire officials urged residents in the affected areas to be prepared to leave immediately if more evacuations orders are given. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti assured residents that anyone leaving their homes should feel safe as there will be police assets in the area. He also said that anyone trying to take advantage of this tragedy would be caught.

So far there have been no injuries to firefighters however three structures have been lost in the fire. Two were homes and one may have been a shed.

Garcetti said authorities are concerned about the fire hooking to the southeast into Glendale and working its way up.

In an advisory about the fire late Friday, the LAFD said that due to erratic fire behavior driven by strong, gusting wings, they were not able to give a "firm" prediction on all areas that might potentially be at risk. They added that the fire is burning in four different directions.

Firefighters advised anyone who feels unsafe in their homes to leave, regardless of an evacuation order. They said residents can call 911 to report their home under threat of a fire before safely evacuating.

The current evacuation center is at Sunland Recreation Center and a second evacuation center was opened at McCambridge Park. Burbank residents can drop off pets at the Burbank Animal Shelter but they must provide a Burbank ID.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this post said the fire had burned 8,000 acres however that figure is not accurate. Patch regrets the error.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Image via Burbank Police