CNN
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Exhausted firefighters battling deadly infernos for weeks are now grappling with more wildfires scorching Los Angeles County – including the Hughes Fire, which has burned through more than 10,000 acres since it began less than 48 hours ago.
As of Thursday evening, the inferno was 36% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire.
Fire crews overnight contributed largely to the new containment lines, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh.
“They put a lot of work in and did an incredible job really knocking the heat out of this fire,” Kelliher Berkoh told CNN on Thursday. “And those winds definitely laid down a bit, which helped us get the upper hand on this fire.”
The Hughes Fire is north of Santa Clarita, near the unincorporated community of Castaic. More than 14,000 structures are threatened, according to Los Angeles County’s Coordinated Joint Information Center.
About 16,200 area residents were under evacuation orders Thursday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, while another 38,700 were under evacuation warnings due to the Hughes Fire.
Meanwhile, two new fires were reported Thursday afternoon in San Diego County –– the Gilman and Border 2 Fires –– the latter of which is spreading through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, near the US-Mexico border, at a “moderate rate,” according to Cal Fire.
The Border 2 Fire doubled in acreage Thursday evening –– spreading across 300 acres to 600 acres in about an hour. There are currently no threats to civilians, though Cal Fire declared that the fire is a threat to critical communication infrastructure.
On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that will direct $2.5 billion in aid to support response and recovery efforts in areas of Los Angeles where thousands of acres have been scorched and dozens of people have been killed by two major wildfires this month.
In pictures: Deadly wildfires in Los Angeles County
“This money will be made available immediately … for ongoing operations, disaster recovery, debris removal, work on logistics, traffic management,” Gov. Newsom said during a news conference on Thursday. “We want to get these dollars out in real time so there’s no anxiety and stress associated with that.”
The relief package was approved earlier in the day by state lawmakers, according to the Associated Press. Supported by both Democrats and Republicans, the package also includes $4 million for local governments to put towards rebuilding homes and $1 million to support school districts and help them rebuild facilities that have been destroyed, AP reports.
California State Assembly speaker Robert Rivas, during the news conference, called on President Donald Trump to approve federal dollars as soon as possible, without conditions.
Meanwhile, the threat of more wildfires is not over. The National Weather Service extended a red-flag warning through Friday morning for most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as bone-dry vegetation and brutal Santa Ana winds stoke the possibility of more wildfires.
The Hughes Fire started just before 11 a.m. Wednesday near Castaic Lake, north of where fire crews are working to fully contain the Palisades and Eaton fires that have scorched more than 40,000 acres and left at least 28 dead since they began January 7.
The fire is “a completely different beast” to the Palisades and Eaton fires, Kelliher Berkoh told CNN Wednesday evening. Two weeks ago, firefighters faced extreme challenges as powerful winds grounded aerial support.
Calmer winds allowed the fire department’s helicopters to carry out water drops at night, Kelliher Berkoh said.
When asked about potential water supply issues, Kelliher Berkoh said crews are fortunate to have direct access to Castaic Lake and other nearby reservoirs for their firefighting efforts.
But “dangerous fire weather conditions will persist through Friday as fuels remain extremely dry and ready to burn, with Thursday the period of greatest concern,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles said. “Any fire that starts can grow fast and out of control.”
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a windblown dust and ash advisory through Thursday at 6 p.m. due to the particles left behind by the fires which can potentially impact air quality throughout the county. Residents who can’t avoid going outside should wear an N95 or P100 mask to protect their lungs, according to the health department.
Firefighters had a more optimistic outlook for another blaze, the Sepulveda Fire, which started late Wednesday. The brush fire near Interstate 405 and Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles has stopped moving forward, the city’s fire department said.
About 250 firefighters “jumped on this very quickly, and we were able to keep it to only 40 acres,” said firefighter David Ortiz, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department. “The Santa Ana winds are blowing against this fire, so we had that in our favor.”
Treacherous mudslides and ‘toxic’ debris flow could be next
Much of Southern California is expected to get doused with desperately needed rainfall this weekend – but this could unleash new hazards.
The Los Angeles and San Diego areas will get more rain this weekend than in the last six months combined. A half-inch to 3/4 of an inch of rain is expected to fall from Saturday to Sunday on the main burn scars of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the National Weather Service said.
While that might not sound like a lot, Los Angeles has seen only 0.03 inches of rain since October 1 – far less than the average of 5.5 inches from October to January. The rain expected this weekend will be the first drops in January, and they will fall quickly over charred land that can’t absorb water.
“A lot of that rain may fall in a relatively short amount of time,” said Ariel Cohen, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles. That torrent will lead to “the possibility of at least shallow debris flows, mudslides and landslides,” Cohen said.
“The burn scars, with the widespread loss of trees, shrubs and vegetation, will have a much lower capability of handling the rain and will be more susceptible for failure,” he said. “It behaves more like cement; the ground can’t accept the water, so it all goes to runoff immediately.”
That means fast-moving rivers of mud, rock and fire debris could gush downhill. The debris flows could be damaging, “taking down other structures and certainly be a threat to life and property,” Cohen said.
Burnt structural rubble, other charred debris and the soil beneath them can contain toxic chemicals, which could take months to remove.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an emergency order this week “to shore up burn areas and to mitigate the serious health and environmental impacts of fire-related hazardous pollutants on the stormwater system, beaches and ocean,” the mayor’s office said.
“I’m directing city crews to swiftly install reinforced concrete barriers, lay down sandbags and clear debris to shore up burn areas and stem the flow of toxins,” Bass said in a release. “These communities have already endured unimaginable loss – we are taking action against further harm.”
The director of Los Angeles County Public Works said the county is ready.
“As the rain approaches LA County, Public Works will mobilize 24/7 storm patrols. All flood control dams and channels have been prepared for storm, and stormwater capture facilities prepared to operate,” Director Mark Pestrella said Wednesday.
“Our crews are clearing debris from streets, cleaning and preparing debris basins, deploying sandbags and other systems to keep runoff with ash and other burnt debris from entering the storm drain system.”
While the county is leading the local effort to prevent landslides and mudslides, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are leading debris removal efforts, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.
Students and inmates get evacuated
With the rain still a couple days away, parched conditions keep fueling the Hughes Fire.
A county jail in Castaic has been partially evacuated, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. The jail is just south of the fire area and can hold as many as 4,295 inmates.
About 470 inmates were evacuated from one of the three facilities on the campus and moved to another part of the detention center, the sheriff said. The other two facilities are “structured much better” than the one that was evacuated, Luna said.
“We do have a plan in place … to evacuate the rest of the inmates on the entire facility if we absolutely had to,” Luna said Wednesday, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, all Castaic Middle School and Castaic High School students were evacuated Wednesday to a Ralph’s supermarket parking lot, according to the California Highway Patrol. Students from North Lake Elementary were evacuated to the Castaic Sports Complex, the agency said on X.
The Valencia and Canyon Country campuses of College of the Canyons were closed Wednesday and Thursday as a “precautionary measure” because of the Hughes Fire, the college said on its website.
Smoke was visible Wednesday as far south as Oxnard, a city in Ventura County located about 50 miles southwest of Castaic, city officials said.
Firefighters keep working the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires
Firefighters are still trying to contain the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, which have killed at least 28 people and left entire neighborhoods in ruins.
As of Thursday morning, the 23,000-acre Palisades Fire was about 72% contained, according to Cal Fire.
The inferno, which started in the Pacific Palisades area of western Los Angeles, has killed at least 11 people and destroyed more than 6,700 structures.
The 14,000-acre Eaton Fire, which devastated parts of the Altadena community north of Pasadena, was about 95% contained, Cal Fire said Thursday morning.
The Eaton Fire has killed at least 17 people and destroyed more than 9,400 structures.
Firefighters might get some help from the rain this weekend. But “once that rain passes, it’s going to dry up again,” said Ortiz, the LAFD spokesperson.
“It’s super dry. Any one spark will have a new start of a fire that establishes and raises quickly.”
CNN’s Josh Campbell, Lauren Mascarenhas, Brandon Miller, Robert Shackelford and Eric Zerkel contributed to this report.
With fears of mudslides, flooding, and debris flows growing, officials have ordered the evacuation of 31,000 people in high-risk areas. The recent fires have stripped the land of vegetation, leaving it vulnerable to erosion and dangerous runoff.
The potential for more deadly hazards is a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by those living in fire-prone areas. As communities band together to support one another and prepare for the worst, the need for swift action and caution is paramount.
As the rain begins to fall, residents are urged to stay vigilant and heed evacuation orders to ensure their safety and well-being. Our thoughts are with those affected by the fires and now facing the threat of further devastation.
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