California fires live updates: Hughes fire breaks out north of Castaic, evacuations ordered, I-5 closed

Red flag fire warnings most significant now through Thursday night, will last until Friday morning

Red flag fire weather warnings are expected to be the most significant from Wednesday noon through Thursday evening, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service said it extended the red flag fire weather warning – which warns of critical fire behavior and rapid spread of fires – until Friday at 6 p.m. 10 for large parts of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Firefighters battled the fast-spreading Hughes Fire north of Castaic, prompting evacuation orders Wednesday morning.

Meteorologist Lisa Phillips with the weather service said she saw a significant amount of smoke between the Grapevine section of Interstate 5 all the way through Ventura County.

Smoke could be smelled inside the weather service’s Oxnard office, weather service meteorologist Ryan Kittell said.

Around 1:15 p.m. Wind gusts were up to 39 mph in the higher elevations around the Hughes Fire north of Castaic; most other weather stations around the area reported gusts of about 15 mph to 25 mph, Kittell said.