Thousands evacuated as new fast-growing fire ignites near Los Angeles

A new fast-moving wildfire has erupted in Los Angeles County, prompting tens of thousands to evacuate a region already reeling from the most destructive fires in its history.

The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles northwest of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The out-of-control blaze has grown to more than 9,400 acres in several hours fuelled by winds and dry brush that is acting as fuel. No homes or businesses have been damaged, but about 31,000 residents have been forced to flee and Interstate 5 – the primary highway running along the US West Coast from Mexico to Canada – is closed.

The new fire is burning north of the two mammoth blazes – which are still burning – that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.

Two other fires have ignited farther south near San Diego and Oceanside, officials said.

They are both smaller – 85 acres for the Lilac fire near Oceanside and 3.9 acres for the Bernardo fire – but were burning in populated areas. Fire crews appeared to have a handle on both of the blazes and evacuation orders had been mostly lifted and forward progress stopped.

In Los Angeles County, local news showed those near the Hughes fire hosing down their homes and yards with water and others rushing to evacuate neighbourhoods.

Orange flames lined the mountains as aircraft dropped water and flame retardant.

The region is once again under a red flag warning, which cautions of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low-humid conditions.

Winds in the area are blowing around 20 to 30 mph but are forecast to strengthen throughout the day, which could allow the blaze to grow and make it harder for air crews to continue their battle from above.

About 31,000 people in the area are under a mandatory evacuation order and another 23,000 are under warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. A jail in the area was evacuating nearly 500 inmates at the facility, he added.

The fire continued to grow as the sun set but Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said he believed crews were making progress.

“The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” he said.

Ed Fletcher, who works for Cal Fire – California’s statewide fire agency, told the BBC that this fire was different than those earlier this month. The winds are not as strong yet, he said, and there are a lot of crews trying to tame the flames.

“It’s super dry and we know it will be increasingly windy later,” he said. “We’ll know more in a few hours.”

Mr Fletcher noted the area is not highly populated and current winds are blowing the fire toward Castaic Lake, which is acting as a buffer between the Castaic area – home to about 20,000 residents.

“If it jumps the lake,” he said, “it becomes a much more dynamic situation.”

One woman who evacuated her home told NBC 4 that she was stuck on Interstate 5, California’s primary transportation highway that runs through the state. Parts of the interstate in the area had been closed due to the fire.

“It looked like a cloud, but as you got close, it looked like we were driving into hell,” she said of the dark smoke and red flames she saw. “It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you.”

She acknowledged being on edge after watching the Palisades and Eaton fires burn nearby, killing at least 28 people and decimating more than 10,000 homes and businesses.

“I don’t know why they keep popping up,” she said. “It’s definitely a scary time in this area.”

Dana Dierkes, a spokesperson for the Angeles National Forest, noted the winds and dry brush have made these recent fires much harder to fight.

“We don’t have a fire season in California. We have a fire year,” she said. “We’ve had wildfires in January before, but it’s exacerbated by the Santa Ana winds. The wind is a huge factor when we’ve had such a dry year.”

Rain is in the weekend forecast in the region, a welcome bit of news to douse the fire threat. But the rainfall is bringing new fears in the form of mudslides, flooding and landslides.

Areas touched by the recent fires are particularly at risk because torched grounds aren’t as absorbent. Gov Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday to help free up resources for flood and slide preparation after the fires.

Crews have been filling thousands of sandbags for impacted areas.

Samantha Granville contributed to this report.