{"id":101084,"date":"2025-01-23T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/?p=101084"},"modified":"2025-01-23T00:00:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T05:00:46","slug":"raging-hughes-fire-forces-50000-to-evacuate-as-crews-battle-near-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/raging-hughes-fire-forces-50000-to-evacuate-as-crews-battle-near-los-angeles\/","title":{"rendered":"Raging Hughes Fire Forces 50,000 to Evacuate as Crews Battle Near Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A fast-moving wildfire<\/strong> broke out Wednesday morning in rugged mountains near Lake Castaic<\/strong>, forcing more than 50,000 people to evacuate or prepare to leave. The Hughes Fire<\/strong>, fueled by dry vegetation and gusty winds, scorched approximately 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) within hours. However, firefighting officials reported significant progress due to coordinated ground and air operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rapid Response Contains Fire Spread<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By late Wednesday, officials expressed cautious optimism about the fire\u2019s containment. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone<\/strong> emphasized that firefighting aircraft were able to effectively deploy tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant due to less severe winds compared to earlier regional fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis fire had a robust response today, and as you can see behind us, the responders are doing great work to try to contain this fire,” said Joe Tyler<\/strong>, director of Cal Fire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 4,000 firefighters were assigned to the effort, supported by water-dropping aircraft. Despite the intense response, authorities urged caution, noting that winds were expected to increase to 60 mph (96 kph) by Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mass Evacuations and Road Closures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The LA County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/strong> confirmed that over 31,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate, with another 23,000 under evacuation warnings. Parts of Interstate 5<\/strong>, a vital north-south route, were temporarily closed to accommodate emergency vehicles and to mitigate risks from heavy smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents near Castaic’s Stonegate neighborhood<\/strong> scrambled to protect properties, including Kayla Amara<\/strong>, a nurse who described the situation as “super stressful.” She joined neighbors in hosing down homes as flames advanced toward their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wind and Rain Pose New Challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Red flag warnings for high fire danger remain in effect for Los Angeles<\/strong> and Ventura counties<\/strong> through Friday morning. Meanwhile, potential rain starting Saturday raises concerns about mudslides<\/strong> and debris flows<\/strong> in fire-damaged areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRains are in the forecast and the threat of mud and debris flow in our fire-impacted communities is real,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger<\/strong>. Crews are proactively filling sandbags and clearing drainage systems in preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toxic Air and Health Risks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Santa Ana winds<\/strong> continue to carry ash, exacerbating air quality issues. LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer<\/strong> warned residents to protect themselves from toxic exposure, as ash may contain harmful substances like heavy metals and arsenic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven a brief exposure can potentially cause skin irritation and lead to more serious problems,\u201d Ferrer said, recommending protective gear for cleanup efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broader Fire Crisis in Southern California<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Palisades<\/strong> and Eaton fires<\/strong>, which began earlier in January, have caused extensive damage, claiming at least 28 lives and destroying over 14,000 structures. Firefighters have achieved 68% containment of the Palisades Fire and 91% containment of the Eaton Fire, but flare-ups remain a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities are still investigating 22 missing persons reports in the affected zones, all of whom are adults. Lawsuits against Southern California Edison<\/strong> allege the utility\u2019s equipment sparked the Eaton Fire. A judge recently ordered the company to release data related to circuits in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Southern California faces its third week of wildfire devastation, communities brace for continued challenges from wind<\/strong>, fire<\/strong>, and potentially rain-related hazards<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fast-moving wildfire has erupted in the rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, forcing over 50,000 people to evacuate or prepare to flee. Crews are racing to contain the flames, but strong winds and dry conditions pose a significant challenge. As smoke billows across major highways and neighborhoods brace for impact, questions remain about the fire\u2019s rapid spread.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weather","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101084"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101087,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101084\/revisions\/101087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}