On Wednesday, a new wildfire broke out north of Los Angeles, quickly spreading to over 38 square km. Strong winds and dry brush fueled the flames, prompting mandatory evacuation orders for over 31,000 people.
The Hughes fire is about 80 km north of Los Angeles. It added pressure to firefighters who had nearly contained two other major fires in the region. In just a few hours, the Hughes fire grew to two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, another large fire that had been ravaging the area since early January.
Officials warned residents in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County about an “immediate threat to life.” Much of Southern California remained under a red-flag warning, indicating extreme fire risk due to dry, strong winds.
Sheriff Robert Luna said in a press conference that around 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 23,000 facing evacuation warnings.
The Angeles National Forest, covering 2,800 sq km in the San Gabriel Mountains, is closed to visitors. Due to the red-flag warning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) deployed about 1,100 firefighters across Southern California.
Weather To The Rescue
Over 4,000 firefighters worked on the Hughes Fire, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
Southern California has not seen much rain in nine months, which worsened conditions. However, rain is forecast from Saturday through Monday, which may help firefighters.
Helicopters filled with water dropped it on the fire while aircraft released fire retardant.
Interstate 5, a major highway in the region, temporarily closed in the Grapevine area because of low visibility from smoke.
Firefighters managed to control enough of the blaze to reopen the highway.
The Eaton and Palisades fires were mainly controlled while the new fire raged.
The Eaton Fire burned 57 sq km and was 91% contained. The Palisades Fire affected 95 sq km and was 68% contained.
At least 28 persons have died in fire incidents in California since early January.
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