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.

The fire threat remains critical in Southern California, where thousands of residents were under evacuation orders Wednesday as fire crews battled the out-of-control Hughes Fire near Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

The Hughes fire about 50 miles 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.

Roughly 31,000 people were ordered to flee an area north of Los Angeles on Wednesday after a fast-moving wildfire exploded, growing to more than 10,000 acres within hours, officials said.