Officials ordered evacuations in the area surrounding the Hughes Fire on Wednesday morning, located near Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County.
Firefighters are battling to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly-moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles.
The Hughes fire has burned through 3,407 acres since it started late Wednesday morning, according to local officials.
The Hughes Fire has spread over 8,096 acres after starting just before lunchtime in Los Angeles County's Castaic Lake area on Wednesday.
Two new wildfires started in Southern California Tuesday night and into Wednesday, as gusty Santa Ana winds continue to plague the state this week.
Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted the second week of January and roared across the Los Angeles area.
Insurance providers could charge policyholders a “supplemental fee” if the state’s insurer of last resort runs out of money.
Some schools destroyed years ago in the Sonoma and Butte county fires are just now reopening. The long, expensive process of rebuilding in LA may eat up much of the money voters approved in November for school repairs statewide.
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.
Some US House Republicans in California are breaking with Speaker Mike Johnson over his suggestion that federal disaster aid be coupled with as-yet unspecified conditions on the wildfire-ravaged state.
According to AccuWeather, a storm sliding south along the California coast from Friday to Sunday could bring some much-needed rainfall.