New wildfire near Los Angeles explodes to 9,400 acres, forces evacuations
A new wildfire that broke out north of Los Angeles on Wednesday rapidly spread to more than 9,400 acres (38 square km), fueled by strong winds and dry brush, forcing mandatory evacuation orders for more than 31,000 people.
The Hughes fire about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles further taxed firefighters in the region who have managed to bring two major fires in the metropolitan area largely under control.
In just a few hours on Wednesday the new fire grew to two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, one of the two monster conflagrations that have ravaged the Los Angeles area.
Officials warned people in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County that they faced "immediate threat to life," while much of Southern California remained under a red-flag warning for extreme fire risk due to strong, dry winds.
Some 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders and another 23,000 face evacuation warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told a press conference.
The Angeles National Forest said its entire 700,000-acre (2,800-sq-km) park in the San Gabriel Mountains was closed to visitors.
As a result of the red-flag warning, some 1,100 firefighters were deployed around Southern California in anticipation of fast-moving fires, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. More than 4,000 firefighters were working on the Hughes Fire, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.
Southern California has gone without significant rain for nine months, contributing to hazardous conditions, but some rain was forecast from Saturday through Monday, possibly giving firefighters much-needed relief.
Helicopters scooped water out of a lake to drop on the fire while fixed-wing aircraft dropped fire retardant on the hills, video on KTLA television showed. Flames spread to the water's edge.
Interstate 5, the major north-south highway in the western United States, was temporarily closed in the mountain pass areas known as the Grapevine due to poor visibility from the smoke, the California Highway Patrol said. But firefighters were able to suppress enough of the fire to reopen the highway, Marrone said.
While the new fire raged, the two deadly fires that have ravaged Los Angeles since Jan. 7 came under greater control, Cal Fire said.
The Eaton Fire that scorched 14,021 acres (57 square km) east of Los Angeles was 91% contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 23,448 acres (95 square km) on the west side of Los Angeles, stood at 68% contained.
Containment measures the percentage of a fire's perimeter that firefighters have under control.
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 structures, Cal Fire said. At one point, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, according to Los Angeles County officials.
Private forecaster AccuWeather projects damage and economic losses at more than $250 billion.
A series of smaller wildfires has been extinguished or brought largely under control in Southern California the past two weeks.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sharjah 24
01-04-2025
- Sharjah 24
Wildfire in California prompts evacuations in multiple counties
According to the Cal Fire, the blaze, dubbed Silver Fire, was ignited at 2:11 pm local time Sunday in Inyo County near the state border with Nevada and quickly grew to 1,000 acres in six hours. The fire spread to 1,250 acres On Monday morning, the fire spread to 1,250 acres (5.06 square kilometres) with zero containment, Cal Fire said, noting strong winds and gusts reaching up to 35 mph (56.3 kph) fuelled the fire, which "created hazardous conditions, grounding some firefighting aircraft and complicating containment efforts." "The winds are very erratic," Cal Fire spokesperson Chloe Castillo said, "One minute they're pushing north, the next they're going east." Evacuations were ordered for about 800 homes in Laws of Inyo County, Chalfant in Mono County and the White Mountain Estates neighbourhoods, and a stretch of about 50 kilometres of US Highway 6 was closed.
Al Etihad
01-04-2025
- Al Etihad
Wildfire in California prompts evacuations in multiple counties
1 Apr 2025 10:02 LOS ANGELES (ALETIHAD)A wildfire erupted in central California over the weekend quickly spread to over 1,000 acres (4.04 square kilometres) as of Monday and prompted evacuations in multiple to the Cal Fire, the blaze, dubbed Silver Fire, was ignited at 2:11 pm local time Sunday in Inyo County near the state border with Nevada and quickly grew to 1,000 acres in six Monday morning, the fire spread to 1,250 acres (5.06 square kilometres) with zero containment, Cal Fire said, noting strong winds and gusts reaching up to 35 mph (56.3 kmph) fuelled the fire, which "created hazardous conditions, grounding some firefighting aircraft and complicating containment efforts.""The winds are very erratic," Cal Fire spokesperson Chloe Castillo said, "One minute they're pushing north, the next they're going east." Evacuations were ordered for about 800 homes in Laws of Inyo County, Chalfant in Mono County and the White Mountain Estates neighbourhoods, and a stretch of about 50 kilometres of US Highway 6 was closed.
Emirates 24/7
14-02-2025
- Emirates 24/7
Heavy rain pummels mudslide-prone Southern California as pileup in Oregon storm closes an interstate
Snow and ice in whiteout conditions contributed to a pileup involving 20 to 30 cars on a major highway connecting Oregon and Idaho, injuring several people as a winter storm hit the Pacific Northwest Thursday. In Southern California, heavy rain from the strongest atmospheric river of the season triggered at least one rockslide and a large debris flow with waist-deep mud in Pacific Palisades. Evacuations were ordered in Los Angeles neighborhoods at high risk of mudslides following recent wildfires. The West Coast storms are the latest in a week of severe weather across the U.S., which has left tens of thousands without power. First responders searched every vehicle in the pileup near Multnomah Falls, 25 miles east of Portland, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. Initially, over 100 vehicles were reported involved, but the state transportation department confirmed 20 to 30 vehicles. Four people were hospitalized with minor injuries, and no deaths were reported. Whiteout conditions caused the westbound Interstate 84 pileup, where an SUV caught fire but occupants escaped. Eight emergency shelters opened in Multnomah County, housing 489 people Wednesday night. Wind chill could drop to 10°F (minus 12°C) in Portland, with up to 3 inches of snow and 45 mph gusts expected. In southern Washington, a 22-vehicle pileup on Interstate 5 near the Cowlitz River injured six people. Authorities reported 95 crashes across five counties. Thursday night, flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for eastern Los Angeles County. Rain triggered a Malibu Canyon rockslide and a debris flow in the Hollywood Hills. Southern California could see up to 6 inches of rain in the mountains and 3 inches in coastal areas before the system clears Friday, according to Brent Bower of the National Weather Service. Strong winds may topple trees, cause outages, and disrupt flights. Evacuation orders covered areas scarred by the Palisades Fire, LA's most destructive wildfire. Officials distributed sandbags and set up barriers, warning residents to be prepared. Malibu schools and Knott's Berry Farm amusement park closed Thursday due to the storm. Despite recent rain, Southern California remains in extreme or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain noted that while the region needs rain, the storm risked delivering it too quickly. In Altadena, Mehran Daoudian covered his fire-damaged roof with a tarp and praised city efforts to set up sandbags and barriers. "I didn't leave my cars on the street because with the mudslide, they might go down," he said. Further north, power outages, landslides, and flooded roads hit the San Francisco Bay Area. Authorities urged evacuations in Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River. Nevada recorded measurable rain in Las Vegas on Thursday, ending a 214-day dry streak. Northern Utah faced hazardous mountain driving conditions from a rain-snow mix, prompting a road safety alert through Friday. In New England, dozens of school districts closed or delayed classes Thursday due to icy roads. A tractor-trailer crash on the Maine Turnpike killed two people. The storms followed two days of heavy snow and freezing rain from Kentucky to Washington, D.C., causing hundreds of accidents and power outages. By Thursday night, 130,000 customers in Virginia and 6,600 in North Carolina remained without electricity. The National Weather Service confirmed two brief EF-0 tornadoes in Mississippi on Wednesday, one damaging homes in Columbia. No major injuries or deaths were reported. Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
