A 4,300-acre brush fire in Canyon Country continued raging Friday morning after it destroyed homes and prompted thousands of evacuations amid dangerous red flag conditions.

The Tick Fire broke out Thursday around 1:24 p.m. in the area of the 31600 block of Tick Canyon Road just south of Summit Knoll Road. With strong Santa Ana winds and dry brush, it spread quickly as it burned downhill in medium to heavy brush. At a Friday morning press conference, officials said intensifying winds were expected to pose a "serious problem" as firefighters tried to gain control of the blaze.

Erratic flames forced more mandatory evacuations after they jumped the 14 Freeway, shutting down all lanes of the freeway from Golden Valley to Escondido Canyon roads and Sand Canyon to Agua Dulce Canyon roads. Sierra Highway was closed in both directions from Golden Valley to Davenport roads.

Homes were evacuated Friday, in addition to orders that were in place the previous day. Some 40,000 residents were evacuated Thursday, and it was unclear how many were effected by recent evacuations.

"This is the largest evacuation that we've had in Santa Clarita," Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said. "If you think you're in an area that may be evacuated, get ready and do it now."

Tick Fire: Canyon Country evacuations, school and road closures

At least six structures were confirmed destroyed, though fire officials said that number was expected to increase. An additional 15,000 homes and other buildings were considered threatened by the flames. AIR7 HD saw at least one home engulfed in flames on Florabunda Road and another on Husk Avenue near Baker Canyon Road.

https://abc7.com/tick-fire-forces-more-evacuations-destroys-homes/5645989/