CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters battled Thursday to maintain the upper hand on a huge wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and left over 50,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings.
The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day had charred nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.
The Hughes blaze didn’t grow much overnight and crews hoped to increase containment before winds pick up again later in the day, fire spokesperson Jeremy Ruiz said Thursday morning.
“We had helicopters dropping water until around 3 a.m. That kept it in check,” he said.
As of Wednesday night, the fire was about 14% contained.
Though the region was under a red flag warning for critical fire risk, winds were not as strong as they had been when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant.
Red flag warnings were extended through Friday morning in LA and Ventura counties.
More than 31,000 people have been ordered to evacuate from the Hughes Fire, and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said. There were no reports of homes or other structures burned.
Parts of Interstate 5 near the Hughes Fire that had been closed reopened Wednesday evening.
A 30-mile (48-kilometer) stretch of the major north-south artery had been closed for emergency vehicles, to move equipment and to prevent accidents due to smoke billowing across it.
Winds in the area were gusting at 42 mph (67 kph) in the afternoon. They had reached as high as 65 mph (105 kph) in some mountain pockets by Wednesday night, according to David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Kayla Amara drove to Castaic’s Stonegate neighborhood to collect items from the home of a friend who had rushed to pick up her daughter at preschool. As Amara was packing the car, she learned the fire had exploded in size and decided to hose down the property.
“Other people are hosing down their houses, too. I hope there’s a house here to return to,” Amara said as police cars raced through the streets and flames engulfed trees on a hillside in the distance.
Amara, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she’s been on edge for weeks as major blazes devastated Southern California.
“It’s been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one is close to home it’s just super stressful,” she said.
Closer to Los Angeles, residents in Sherman Oaks received an evacuation warning Wednesday night after a brush fire broke out on the Sepulveda Pass near the I-405 Freeway. The blaze was first reported just after 11 p.m., but the Los Angeles Fire Department said Thursday that forward progress had been stopped at about 40 acres (16 hectares) and the evacuation warning was lifted. No structures were damaged and no injuries were reported, fire officials said, but firefighters remained at the scene.
The low humidity, bone-dry vegetation and strong winds came as firefighters continued battling the Palisades and Eaton fires. Officials remained concerned that those fires could break their containment lines as firefighters continue watching for hot spots. Containment of the Palisades Fire reached 70%, and the Eaton Fire was at 95%.
The Palisades and Eaton fires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out Jan. 7.
Luna said Wednesday his department was still investigating 22 active missing person reports in both fire zones. All reported missing are adults, he said.
Ahed of the weekend, Los Angeles officials were preparing for potential rain even as some residents were allowed to return to the charred Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas. Gusty weather was expected to last through Thursday and precipitation was possible starting Saturday, according to the weather service.
The California fires have overall caused at least $28 billion in insured damage and probably a little more in uninsured damage, according to Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modeling firm known for accurate post-catastrophe damage assessments.
On the heels of that assessment, California Republicans are pushing back against suggestions by President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others that federal disaster aid for victims of wildfires should come with strings attached. Trump plans to visit the state to see the damage firsthand Friday, but it wasn't clear whether he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will meet during the visit.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is investigating the causes of the fires but has not released any findings.
Several lawsuits have been filed by people who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire, alleging Southern California Edison's equipment sparked the blaze. On Tuesday, a judge overseeing one of the lawsuits ordered the utility to produce data from circuits in the area where the fire started.
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The story has been updated to correct to Castaic Lake, from Lake Castaic.
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Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Ethan Swope in Castaic, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.
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