The Palisades and Eaton wildfires continue burning in the Los Angeles area, leaving parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

Coverage of when the Hughes fire exploded north of Castaic, the areas under evacuation orders and an extended red flag warning.

Officials ordered evacuations in the area surrounding the Hughes Fire on Wednesday morning, located near Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County.

CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.

The Hughes Fire has spread over 5,054 acres after starting just before lunchtime in Los Angeles County's Castaic Lake area on Wednesday.

Over 1,100 firefighters were “strategically pre-positioned” across Southern California to address "ongoing critical fire weather," Cal Fire said.

Thousands of firefighters have been battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. The two largest fires, the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, remain active. One of the latest, the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area, has prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people.

The Hughes Fire is burning near Castaic Lake in the community of Castaic, just over six miles north of Six Flags Magic Mountain. It's a popular recreation area about 40 miles from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.

A brush fire erupted amid powerful winds Wednesday afternoon in the Castaic area in the northern region of Los Angeles County, spreading quickly to 10,176 acres near the freeway, officials said.

With high winds driving the flames, a fast-moving wildfire exploded to more than 10,000 acres near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic Wednesday, prompting mandatory evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people.

Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.