The University of California was told to evacuate immediately as the Laguna Fire ignites in Ventura County

• Fires continue to rage across Southern California, with the Hughes Fire exploding to more than 10,000 acres in hours.

• Critical fire conditions continue across the region, with fire weather warnings in effect through Friday.

• Beneficial rain is on the way, but may trigger mudslides in burn areas.

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters in the south California have behaved more harshly forest fire struggles as crews raced to contain and extinguish multiple fires that broke out Wednesday and Thursday.

The most recent fire, the Laguna Fire, was reported near the community of Camarillo in Ventura County Thursday morning.

According to Ventura County Fire Departmentignited the Laguna Fire near Laguna Road in the Oxnard Plains, and crews arriving at the scene said the fire was burning in brush and spreading quickly.

Officials said firefighters are aggressively attacking the flames from the ground and air while additional crews assess and mitigate any potential threats in the immediate area.

Due to the threat, Cal State University Channel Islands has ordered an immediate campus evacuation.

“A fire has been reported at Round Mountain/Sat’wiwa and the campus has been ordered to evacuate,” officials said in an emergency alert. “Please proceed to evacuate the campus and University Glen/Ancapa Canyon immediately.”

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Officials with CAL FIRE said the Sepulveda fire broke out near the heavily traveled 405 Freeway in the area of ​​North Sepulveda Boulevard and Getty Center Drive near Sherman Oaks.

Crews on the ground and in the air worked tirelessly to bring the fire under control. A few hours later, the The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) announced that all progress on the Sepulveda Fire had been halted and all evacuation warnings had been lifted.

No evacuation orders were announced, but some areas that had been under an evacuation warning had previously been affected by the still-burning Palisades Fire.

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The LAFD said no structures were damaged and no injuries were reported.

Firefighters remained on the scene Wednesday night monitoring the area, and traffic on the 405 Freeway was affected as crews worked along the freeway.

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The firefighters were already in full swing trying to contain and put out the fire quickly spread the Hughes Fire before the Sepulveda Fire broke out in spate Santa Ana wins which continued to plague Southern California.

The Hughes Fire exploded in size Wednesday near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County, swelled to more than 10,000 acres early Thursday morning. At one point, as the inferno raged on Wednesday, it was estimated that more than 30 hectares were being consumed by flames every minute.

See: Hughes Fire Inferno Consumes Hills In Los Angeles County

More than 50,000 residents throughout the region were put on alert, and several schools were located within the evacuation zone around the fire. Ventura County officials said some evacuation orders had been downgraded to evacuation warnings, while many other evacuation warnings had been lifted.

Officials said students at North Lake Elementary School were evacuated to the Castaic Sports Complex, while all students at Castaic Middle School and Castaic Elementary School were evacuated to a location in Hasley Canyon.

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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was ready to hold inmates sure at the Pitchess Detention Center as the Hughes fire raged nearby. In a Facebook postthe sheriff’s department said they had several vehicles on standby in case they were needed to evacuate prisoners.

“We are working closely with Los Angeles County Fire to ensure that the employees and the incarcerated population at the property remain safe,” officials said.

Sheriff’s Department officials told FOX Weather that as of Wednesday afternoon, 476 inmates had been transferred out South Plant to Northern County Correctional Facilitywhich sits on the same prison campus.

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Several major roads that connect Bakersfield the Los Angeles metro area was temporarily shut down, including the busy Interstate 5 through “Grapevine.”

Thursday morning, the California Highway Patrol said I-5 northbound and southbound were reopened as firefighters worked to keep the flames from threatening the freeway.

“Before traveling through Grapevine, verify that all lanes are still open,” the CHP warned. “Be informed, please prepared!”

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Aerial video showed flames approaching I-5 near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Claritaseam win pushed the fire to the south and west.

The area is known for being home to Six Flags Magic Mountain, but the park appeared to be well outside the original fire zone.

In a Thursday update, fire officials said firefighters were aggressively battling the flames and were challenged by extreme fire behavior, terrain and weather.

However, crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to Elderberry Canyon, the Castaic Hydroelectric Power Plant and surrounding communities.

Their plan for Thursday was to continue to focus on establishing and holding containment lines to keep it within its current footprint.

More crews are expected to be staged in Castaic to prevent further fire spread.

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The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said hazardous fire weather conditions will persist throughout the region through Friday, and Fire weather warnings have been issued as a result.

So say forecasters fuels remain extremely dry and “ready to burn” with Thursday being the period of greatest concern.

High gusts of 30-55 mph will be common over much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, with locally higher gusts of 50-65 mph in the mountains.

Low relative humidity will also persist with a minimum below 10% over large parts of the area.

The FOX Forecast Center said an upper-level disturbance is likely to swing into the region from the Pacific Ocean this weekend that brings first widespread rain in months.

The rain and the mountain snow begins on Saturday and peaks in coverage on Sunday before winding down on Monday.

About half an inch of rain could fall in the lower elevations, and several inches of snow is expected above 4,000 feet.

In the short term, the rain will benefit firefighters still battling wildfires in the Los Angeles area, but much more rain is needed.

And while the rain is beneficial, it poses risks.

There is a risk of mudslide within areas with burn scars in Southern California, and officials warned that charred hillsides are in danger of giving way even without rain.

The burned landscape, filled with broken water mains, and the influx of water from the firefighting efforts have destabilized hillsides in the region.

Original article source: The University of California was told to evacuate immediately as the Laguna Fire ignites in Ventura County