A fast-moving fire north of Los Angeles has exploded to more than 25,000 acres in hours, as fire tornadoes erupt and 50,000 weary residents face new evacuation warnings.
The inferno, dubbed the Hughes Fire, erupted in the hills north of Santa Clarita near Castaic Lake, jumping from just 500 acres to 10,176 acres on Wednesday.
About 31,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders, while another 23,000 are on high alert with warnings that they should consider fleeing their homes.
Images from the edge of the fire show swirling tornadoes of fire beginning to take shape as entire hillsides are covered in fiery red flames.
Huge clouds of smoke billow over entire neighborhoods as helicopters dump gallons of water from the sky in an attempt to contain the fire.
Weary residents of Southern California and Los Angeles have been battling fires for three weeks after dozens of prime properties from the Pacific Palisades to Malibu and Pasadena were razed last week.
Although the region was under a red flag warning, winds were not as fast as when the fires broke out, allowing firefighting planes to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant material.
“The situation we are in today is very different than the situation we were in 16 days ago,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday evening.
The fast-growing Hughes Fire has scorched nearly 9,300 acres of land in a span of hours, as Los Angeles residents report seeing fire tornadoes
Footage from the scene shows swirling fire tornadoes at the edges of roads and entire hills covered in fiery red flames
No lives were lost and no buildings were damaged in the blaze, which is being fought by some 4,000 firefighters, Marrone confirmed.
As the inferno spreads, Governor Gavin Newsom has assured Californians that state resources have been mobilized to bring the situation under control.
“State resources have been deployed to the Hughes Fire in the Angeles National Forest to assist with the federal response,” he said on X.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide the federal government with everything it needs to extinguish this fire.”
Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler said, “This fire had a strong response today, and as you can see behind us, responders are doing a great job trying to get this fire under control. Certainly, we're not out of the woods yet.'
No lives were lost and no buildings were damaged in the blaze, which is being battled by some 4,000 exhausted firefighters, Marrone added.
He also said one of their priorities would be to ensure that crews, who have been battling the Hughes fire since it began, have time to eat and rest, according to the New York Times.
“Firefighting is dirty and dangerous work, but we need to rotate our crews so we can have high production and efficiency throughout the night,” he said.
When it started, the Hughes The fire quickly tore through nearly 8 square miles of trees and brush and sent up a huge plume of dark smoke near Lake Castaic, a popular recreation area about 40 miles from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.
Exits along Interstate 5, a major north-south artery, were closed as flames raced along hilltops and down into rugged canyons.
Crews on the ground and in water drop planes tried to prevent the wind-driven fire from moving south into more populated communities in the hills in Castaic, where about 18,000 people live.
A helicopter drops water on the Hughes Fire as firefighters monitor the flames in Castaic, California, Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
As the inferno spreads, Governor Gavin Newsom has assured Californians that state resources have been mobilized to bring the situation under control
Plumes of smoke rise as the Hughes Fire burns in Castaic
At least three schools were evacuated as a precaution, the California Highway Patrol said
At least three schools were evacuated as a precaution, the California Highway Patrol said.
Meanwhile, to the south, Los Angeles officials prepared for possible rain even as some residents were allowed to return to the charred areas of Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The stormy weather was expected to continue until Thursday.
“We're going to see another round of critical fire conditions across Southern California,” Todd Hall, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Wednesday morning. “Right now it sounds like a broken record.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has issued an executive order to expedite cleanup efforts in fire areas and mitigate the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants.
The Eaton Fire that scorched 14,021 acres east of Los Angeles is 91 percent contained, while the larger Palisades fire, which has burned 23,448 acres on the west side of Los Angeles, was 68 percent contained as of Wednesday.
Since the two fires broke out on Jan. 7, they have burned an area nearly the size of Washington, D.C., killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 buildings, Cal Fire said.
The cause of the Hughes fire is under investigation.
