Firefighters north of Los Angeles scrambled Thursday morning to extinguish a wildfire that exploded the day before, quickly burning more than 10,000 acres and forcing the temporary closure of a section of Interstate 5. .
A red flag warning, indicating dangerous fire weather conditions, was issued Thursday for much of Southern California. The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles warned that wind gusts of up to 105 mph could cause new or existing fires to spread quickly.
High winds sparked a new small wildfire late Wednesday near Interstate 405 and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, burning 40 acres and raising concerns as firefighters and air crews rushed to the scene. Ta. A temporary evacuation warning for the area was lifted early Thursday, and fire officials said the fire, dubbed the Sepulveda Fire, had stopped advancing.
The massive blaze, dubbed the Hughes Fire, broke out Wednesday morning and blazed across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, prompting evacuation orders and warnings for more than 50,000 people. Cal Fire said the fire was 14% contained by early Thursday morning.
The fire is burning near Castaic Lake, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Many California residents know this area as the home of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. It is located north of the Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 23,000 acres since it started more than two weeks ago.
On Wednesday night, people in the Castaic area watched as the Hughes Fire smoldered in the hills across the highway. As wind chimes chimed, several helicopters crossed the sky. Palm leaves rustled in the low traffic noise of Interstate 5 below.
Flames broke out on the hill above Pitches Detention Center, a prison in the mandatory fire evacuation zone. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it is “well prepared” to protect the safety of inmates at the facility.
The fire was mostly burning brush as of late Wednesday, with no reports of damage to buildings. But after weeks of enduring the most destructive fires in California history, that was the last thing residents wanted to deal with.
The Hughes Fire was about the same size as the 14,000-acre Eaton Fire, which started on the same day as the Palisades Fire and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings. The Eaton Fire was 95% contained Wednesday. The Palisades fire is 70 percent contained.
The weather service said warm, dry conditions are expected Thursday, with Santa Ana Desert winds expected to peak again around 9 a.m. Pacific time. Temperatures are expected to drop further from Friday into the weekend, with intermittent showers expected starting Monday morning, which could reduce the fire danger.
Nazaneen Ghaffar and Claire Moses Contributed to the report.
