30,000 evacuated as explosive Hughes fire breaks out amid strong winds near Castaic
A new fire in southern California has exploded from 500 acres to more than 9,000 in just a few hours, prompting new evacuation orders for an area already reeling from blazes that have destroyed thousands of homes.
The Hughes Fire grew rapidly near Castaic Lake, about 45 miles northwest of the city of Los Angeles, after it broke out at around 10.53am PST on Wednesday.
No homes or businesses have been damaged, but about 31,000 residents have been forced to flee, officials said, with thousands more under evacuation warnings.
Crews on the ground and in the sky attacked the flames, which were spreading over 23 football fields every minute, according to ABC 7. It is 0 per cent contained.
“That one’s gonna go nuclear. It’s big,” wildfire expert Jacob Weigler told The New York Post.
The new fire is burning just north of the two massive blazes that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.
Key Points
Hughes fire spreads to 9,400 acres
Hughes fire: Over 50,000 under evacuation orders
Mapped: The scale of Hughes Fire and affected communities near Santa Clarita
Full story: Hughes fire in Los Angeles prompts mandatory evacuations
04:30 , Stuti Mishra
A new fire in Southern California has exploded from 500 acres to more than 9,000 in just a few hours, prompting new evacuation orders for an area already reeling from blazes that have raged and destroyed thousands of homes.
Read more:
Hughes fire in Los Angeles prompts mandatory evacuations
Fire department confident of ‘robust’ response
04:10 , Stuti Mishra
Fire officials said a rapid ground and air assault was giving them the upper hand with Hughes fire.There were no reported homes or other structures burned.
Though the region was under a red flag warning, winds were not as fast as they had been when those fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant.
“The situation that we’re in today is very different from the situation we were in 16 days ago,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday evening.
“This fire had a robust response today, and as you can see behind us, the responders are doing great work to try to contain this fire,” Joe Tyler, director of Cal Fire, said. “Certainly, we are not out of the woods yet.”
Mapped: The scale of Hughes Fire and affected communities near Santa Clarita
03:50 , Stuti Mishra
A map shows the Hughes Fire and affected communities near Santa Clarita, California. (Cal Fire)
Hughes fire: Over 50,000 under evacuation orders
03:47 , Stuti Mishra
More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings as a huge and fast-moving wildfire swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles.
The blaze, which started just days after wildfires scorched large parts of LA, has shut down schools and key highways. Parts of Interstate 5 that had been closed were reopened later in the evening.
More than 31,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings, LA County sheriff Robert Luna said.
Hughes fire spreads to 9,400 acres
03:26 , Stuti Mishra
A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, a region already reeling from blazes that have destroyed thousands of homes.
The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles northwest of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, near Castaic Lake, prompting tens of thousands to evacuate.
Here’s the latest:
The fire has rapidly expanded to approximately 9,400 acres with 0 per cent containment.
The blaze has prompted mandatory evacuation orders for about 31,000 residents, with an additional 23,000 under evacuation warnings.
No fatalities or structural damages have been reported so far.
#evacuated #explosive #Hughes #fire #breaks #strong #winds #Castaic