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Hughes Fire containment grows after thousands forced to flee

LOS ANGELES — Firefighters gained more ground Thursday on a fast-moving brushfire that erupted north of Los Angeles the day before and within hours exploded to thousands of acres amid high winds, officials said.

The Hughes Fire, which started near Castaic Lake, was 24% contained and had burned more than 10,000 acres by Thursday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

No structures have been destroyed, officials said.

The fire had prompted mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday for more than 31,000 people. Those had lifted by Thursday afternoon, but around 54,900 people remained under an evacuation warning, meaning they should be prepared to leave if ordered, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Image: hughes fire water drop firefighting helicopter
A firefighting helicopter drops water over the Hughes Fire in Castaic, Calif., on Thursday.Apu Gomes / AFP via Getty Images

“This fire was one of those tough, fast-moving Santa Ana wind-driven fires,” Brent Pascua, a battalion chief with Cal Fire, said Thursday.

The fast-moving Hughes Fire, which occurred as the region was under a warning for high winds and critical fire weather, erupted little more than two weeks after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires started in the Los Angeles area, killing at least 28 people destroying thousands of homes.

It was reported at 10:24 a.m. Wednesday near Lake Hughes Road, close to Castaic Lake, in northern Los Angeles County, according to fire officials. Dry, dead and dying brush gave the fire plenty of fuel, Pascua said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

A second fire also broke out Wednesday in Sepulveda Pass, growing to 40 acres near the densely populated Sherman Oaks neighborhood and UCLA, but its progress was stopped and Cal Fire said it was 60% contained by Thursday.

The area remained under “red flag” warnings through 10 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service said, although Thursday was the greatest day of concern. “Any fire that starts can grow fast and out of control,” the agency warned.

Image: Rapidly Growing Hughes Fire North Of Los Angeles Forces Evacuations
Inmate firefighters work as the Hughes Fire burns north of Los Angeles, near Castaic, Calif., on Wednesday.Mario Tama / Getty Images

The winds that fueled the Hughes Fire’s spread Wednesday where not as powerful as the hurricane-force winds that fueled the Palisades and Eaton fires on Jan. 7, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said. Those winds kept firefighting aircraft grounded.

Experts have pointed to the link between climate change and the conditions that make fires like those that have roared across Los Angeles in recent weeks more likely.

The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed entire communities and the city’s fire chief has called them one of the worst disasters in Los Angeles history.

The Eaton Fire, which devastated the community of Altadena and burned homes in other cities, was 95% contained Thursday after burning more than 14,000 acres, fire officials said. More than 9,400 structures, including homes, have been destroyed.

The Palisades Fire damaged or destroyed thousands of structures in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, and along scenic Pacific Coast Highway. It has burned more than 23,400 acres and was 72% contained by Thursday, Cal Fire said in an update.

Both fires occurred during extreme Santa Ana winds that gusted more than 80 mph, a strength seen in hurricanes, which created what officials have called a firestorm.

The cause of both fires remained under investigation.

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