Progress is made on a huge fire north of Los Angeles while new fires
erupt in Southern California
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 [January 24, 2025]
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday for tens of
thousands as firefighters with air support slowed the spread of a huge
wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, but new
blazes erupted in San Diego County, briefly triggering more evacuations.
Southern California is under a red flag warning for critical fire risk
through Friday. The area has been facing constant challenges in
controlling the fires, as dangerous winds gained strength again
Thursday.
The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day
charred nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brush
near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64
kilometers) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are
burning for a third week.
Crews made significant progress by late afternoon on the Hughes Fire,
with more than one-third of it contained.
Two new blazes were reported Thursday in the San Diego area. Evacuations
were ordered but were later lifted after a brush fire erupted in the
late afternoon in the wealthy enclave of La Jolla near the University of
California, San Diego, School of Medicine. Further south, near the
U.S.-Mexico border, another blaze was quickly spreading through the Otay
Mountain Wilderness, home to the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly
and other unique species.
In Ventura County, a new fire briefly prompted the evacuation of
California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo. Water-dropping
helicopters made quick progress against the Laguna Fire that erupted in
hills above the campus of about 7,000 students. The evacuation order was
later downgraded to a warning.
Rain is forecast for the weekend, potentially ending Southern
California's monthslong dry spell. Winds are also not as strong as they
were when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out, allowing for
firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire
retardant.
That helped the fight against the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area north
of Los Angeles, allowing helicopters to drop water, which kept it from
growing, fire spokesperson Jeremy Ruiz said.
“We had helicopters dropping water until around 3 a.m. That kept it in
check,” he said.
Nearly 54,000 residents in the Castaic area were still under evacuation
warnings Thursday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
There were no reports of homes or other structures burned.
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Apparatus sits on Sepulveda Blvd. as fire burns along Interstate
405, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J.
Terrill)
Kayla Amara drove to Castaic’s Stonegate neighborhood Wednesday to
collect items from the home of a friend who had rushed to pick up
her daughter at preschool. As Amara was packing the car, she learned
the fire had exploded in size and decided to hose down the property.
Amara, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she’s been on edge
for weeks as major blazes devastated Southern California.
“It’s been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one
is close to home it’s just super stressful,” she said.
The Palisades Fire was more than three-quarters contained, and the
Eaton Fire was 95% under control Thursday. The two fires have killed
at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since
they broke out Jan. 7.
Rain was expected to start Saturday, according to the National
Weather Service. Officials welcomed the wet weather, but crews also
were shoring up hillsides and installing barriers to prevent debris
flows as residents returned to the charred Pacific Palisades and
Altadena areas.
The California fires have overall caused at least $28 billion in
insured damage and probably a little more in uninsured damage,
according to Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modeling firm known
for accurate post-catastrophe damage assessments.
On the heels of that assessment, California Republicans are pushing
back against suggestions by President Donald Trump, House Speaker
Mike Johnson and others that federal disaster aid for victims of
wildfires should come with strings attached.
The state Legislature approved a more than $2.5 billion fire relief
package Thursday, in part to help the Los Angeles area recover from
the fires.
Trump plans to travel to the state to see the damage firsthand
Friday, but it isn’t clear whether he and Democratic Gov. Gavin
Newsom will meet during the visit.
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The story has been updated to correct to Castaic Lake, from Lake
Castaic.
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