New US ‘Hughes’ wildfire rips through mountains north of Los Angeles | Environmental news

Firefighting aircraft and ground crews are battling a fast-moving wildfire in the Castaic Lake area north of Los Angeles.

A fast-moving wildfire broke out in the mountains north of Los Angeles, tearing through an estimated 21 square kilometers (8.1 square miles) of trees and brush, prompting thousands of evacuation orders for local residents and sending a huge plume of dark smoke into the sky .

Firefighters said Wednesday that the Hughes Fire in the Castaic Lake area of ​​Los Angeles County — located about 80 km (50 miles) north of the city of Los Angeles — prompted evacuation orders for local residents amid the “imminent threat to life” from the blaze .

An estimated 18,600 people live in the community, where raging flames consumed trees and shrubs on the hillsides surrounding Castaic Lake.

Robert Jensen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department urged everyone in the fire-stricken area to leave the area immediately and avoid suffering the same fate as some in the devastating fires that hit the Los Angeles area of ​​Eaton and Palisades, as well as other areas. killed 28 people and left thousands homeless.

“We’ve seen the devastation caused by people not following those orders in the Palisades and Eaton fires,” Jensen said.

“I don’t want to see that here in our society either. If you have been issued an evacuation order, please come out,” he said.

US television news showed police driving around the Castaic area, urging people to leave, while crews on the ground and in submerged aircraft struggled to stop the wind-driven fire from moving south towards more populated communities in the foothills.

The fire was fanned by strong, dry Santa Ana winds that swept through the area, pushing a huge plume of smoke and embers ahead of the flames.

Fire crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Angeles National Forest also attacked the fire from the ground.

It was not immediately known what sparked the fire, but it occurred under red flag fire conditions, as meteorologists say strong winds and low humidity create conditions ripe for rapid fire spread.

The University of California San Diego shared a dramatic video of the start of the Hughes fire and its rapid development on its ALERTCalifornia online platform, showing a huge cloud of smoke developing rapidly as the fire spreads across hillsides.

The start and rapid growth of #HughesFire in Los Angeles County as seen from ALERTCalifornia’s Whitaker Ridge camera. Check the conditions live on several cameras at and see to it @Angeles_NF and @LACOFD for updates. pic.twitter.com/JyKOpyY2jx

— ALERTCalifornia (@ALERTCalifornia) 22 January 2025

US President Donald Trump, who criticized the response to past wildfires in the Los Angeles area during his inaugural address on Monday, said he will travel to the city on Friday.

As the new fire raged in Castaic, the Eaton and Palisades fires – which have also ravaged Los Angeles – have been brought under greater control, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

The Eaton Fire, which has burned through 5,674 hectares east of Los Angeles, is now 91 percent contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 9,489 hectares (23,448 acres) on the west side of Los Angeles, is nearly 70 percent contained, said the authorities.

Since the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out on Jan. 7, they have killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures, Cal Fire said.

At one point, while the fires were high, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, according to Los Angeles County officials.

Private forecaster AccuWeather projects damage and economic losses from the fires around Los Angeles at more than $250 billion.