A new wildfire that ignited north of Los Angeles has rapidly extended to over 9,400 acres (38 sq/km), fueled by fierce winds and parched vegetation, prompting mandatory evacuation orders for over 31,000 residents.
The Hughes Fire, located about 80 km north of Los Angeles, has further strained the resources of firefighters in the area, who have largely managed to bring two significant fires in the metropolitan region under control.
In just a matter of hours, this new blaze reached two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, one of the major conflagrations impacting the Los Angeles vicinity.
Officials cautioned residents in the Castaic Lake region of Los Angeles County about an “immediate threat to life,” while a red-flag warning for extreme fire risk remained in effect for much of Southern California due to strong, dry winds.
The ‘Hughes Fire’ in the Castaic area has triggered an ‘immediate threat to life’ alert.
The Angeles National Forest announced the closure of its entire 2,800 sq/km park in the San Gabriel Mountains to visitors.
In light of the red-flag warning, approximately 1,100 firefighters were dispatched across Southern California in preparation for rapidly spreading fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
More than 4,000 firefighters were engaged in combating the Hughes Fire, stated Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
Southern California has experienced nearly nine months without significant rainfall, contributing to perilous fire conditions; however, some rain has been predicted from Saturday through Monday, potentially offering much-needed respite to firefighters.
A man observed resting with a bottle of water after fleeing the Hughes Fire north of LA.
Helicopters were seen extracting water from a lake to combat the fire, while fixed-wing aircraft dropped fire retardant on the hills, as shown in footage from KTLA television.
Flames reached the edges of the water.
Interstate 5, a key north-south highway in the western United States, was temporarily closed in the mountain pass areas known as the Grapevine due to reduced visibility caused by smoke, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Fortunately, firefighters succeeded in suppressing enough of the blaze to reopen the highway, Mr. Marrone reported.
Amid the new fireโs intensity, the two destructive fires that have impacted Los Angeles since January 7 began to come under more control, CalFire noted.
In just a few hours, the new fire expanded to two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, one of the two main blazes affecting LA.
The Eaton Fire, which has scorched 57 sq/km east of Los Angeles, was reported to be 91% contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 95 sq/km on the west side of Los Angeles, stood at 68% containment.
Containment refers to the percentage of a fireโs perimeter that firefighters have managed to control.
Since the outbreak of these fires on January 7, they have burned an area nearly equivalent to that of Washington, D.C., claimed 28 lives, and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures, as reported by Cal Fire.
Around 180,000 individuals remained under evacuation orders, according to officials from Los Angeles County.
Private forecast provider AccuWeather has estimated damage and economic losses could exceed $250 billion.
A series of smaller wildfires have been extinguished or significantly controlled in Southern California over the past two weeks.
