- The Hughes Fire erupted in southern California Wednesday, the latest in a string of wildfires.
- Parts of the crucial Interstate 5 freeway were closed as crews battled the flames.
- The fire spread rapidly and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
Another fast-growing fire broke out in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties on Wednesday as the region is still reeling from the fires that burned through more than 37,000 acres earlier this month.
The Hughes Fire erupted at around 10:50 a.m. local time near Castaic, located north of Los Angeles city about 40 miles north of the Palisades Fire. It was first reported at about 50 acres and quickly grew to 9,457 acres by Wednesday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The cause of the fire, which was 0% contained as of Wednesday evening, was unknown.
Evacuation orders were issued for the surrounding areas. Officials said during a press conference that more than 31,000 people were under evacuation orders, while another 23,000 were under evacuation warnings.
The vital I-5 freeway was also temporarily closed as a result of the Hughes Fire, and some offramps in the area remained closed Wednesday evening.
Though some rain is expected in the area later in the week, winds continue to challenge the firefighting efforts in the dry, brushy area and threaten to push the flames into Ventura County, Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, said in a live stream, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“This is not a good place to have a fire under northeast winds, because there is an almost contiguous, very dense fuel bed all in this region,” Swain said.
Earlier this month the Palisades and Eaton fires tore through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, killing at least 27 people and destroying thousands of structures.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
