Thousands evacuated due to fire near Los Angeles

A new, fast-spreading wildfire has broken out in Los Angeles County, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in history.

The Hughes Fire ignited Wednesday morning near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area bordering several residential communities and schools about 45 miles northwest of the city of Los Angeles.

The fire grew to more than 9,200 acres in a matter of hours Wednesday, fueled by wind and dry brush. No homes or businesses were damaged, and fire officials expressed confidence they could contain the blaze.

The new fire broke out just north of two massive fires (still burning) that destroyed several Los Angeles-area neighborhoods earlier this month.

Local news showed residents near the Hughes fire spraying water on their homes and gardens while others in the area rushed to evacuate.

Orange blazes line the mountain. The aircraft dropped water and flame retardant..

Warnings have once again been issued for the region of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low humidity conditions.

Winds in the area were blowing at around 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km), but could fan the flames and make navigation more difficult for crews.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said about 31,000 people in the area were under mandatory evacuation orders, and another 23,000 were warned they may need to evacuate. He added that nearly 500 inmates were being evacuated from a prison in the region.

The fire continued to grow as the sun set, but Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said firefighters believed they were making progress.

“The situation remains dynamic and although we have the upper hand, the fire remains a difficult wildfire to extinguish,” he said.

Chief Marrone explained how different this fire is from the Palisades and Eaton fires earlier this month that killed at least 28 people and damaged more than 10,000 homes and businesses.

He said that’s because there were a mix of low winds, unlike the 70 to 90 mph winds seen in previous fires, and there were only so many helicopters and planes available to fight the flames from above.

“I think we’ve all been on edge over the last 16 days,” he said. “We were able to build up a lot of fire resources early on to change the face of this fire.”

Ed Fletcher, who works for Cal Fire, the state fire agency, told the BBC this fire was different from the one that occurred earlier this month. The winds aren’t that strong yet and a lot of manpower is working to put out the fire, he said.

“It’s very dry and we know it’s going to get more and more windy later on,” he said. “We will know more in a few hours.”

Mr Fletcher pointed out that the area is not very densely populated and that winds are currently blowing the fire towards Lake Castaic, which acts as a buffer between the Castaic region, which has about 20,000 residents.

“If you jump across the lake, it’s a much more dynamic situation,” he said.

A woman who was evacuated from her home told NBC 4 she was trapped on Interstate 5, California’s main transportation highway that runs through the state. Parts of the highway in the area were closed due to the fire.

“It looked like a cloud, but when I got closer, it felt like I was going to hell,” she said of the black smoke and red flames she saw. “I was pretty scared to be honest with you.”

She admitted feeling anxious after seeing the Palisades and Eaton fires burning nearby.

“I don’t know why they keep showing up,” she said. “It’s definitely a scary time for this region.”

Two other fires broke out Wednesday at two locations further south, near San Diego and Oceanside, officials said.

Both are smaller (85 acres for the Lilac Fire near Oceanside and 3.9 acres for the Central Fire). But in densely populated areas, it caught fire. Firefighters appeared to be dealing with both fires and evacuation orders had largely been lifted.

Dana Dierkes, a spokeswoman for the Angeles National Forest, noted that wind and dry brush are making recent fires much more difficult to contain.

“There is no fire season in California. We have a fire year,” she said. “We’ve had wildfires in January before, but Santa Ana winds have made them worse. In a dry year like this, winds are a big factor.”

Rain is forecast for the region over the weekend, which is welcome news as it could help ease the fire threat. But heavy rains are raising new fears in the form of landslides, floods and mudslides.

Areas with recent fires are particularly at risk because the burned ground is not very absorbent.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Monday to help free up resources to prepare for flooding and mudslides in the wake of the fires.

Crews filled the thousands. sandbag For use in hazardous areas.

Samantha Granville contributed to this report.