Firefighters battle to keep upper hand on new wildfire north of Los Angeles | California wildfires

Firefighters struggled to maintain the upper hand in a massive, fast-moving wildfire that swept through the rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and put more than 50,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings.

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 Eaton fires. The destroyed Palisades. Which burns for the third week.

Although the area was under a red flag warning of serious fire danger, the winds were not as fast as they were when those fires broke out, allowing firefighting planes to drop tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant on the latest blaze. As of Wednesday night, the Hughes Fire was about 14% contained.

Two fires broke out Thursday afternoon in San Diego. The Gilman Fire prompted evacuations for neighborhoods south of UC San Diego but fire officials halted the fire’s advance by 3:30 p.m. PT. Meanwhile, a second, fast-moving wildfire broke out in the Otay Mountains and had reached nearly 150 acres (61 hectares) by 3:30 p.m. PT, with Cal Fire officials saying the fire had a “dangerous rate of spread.”

Late Wednesday, a new 40-acre fire, dubbed the Sepulveda Fire, broke out near Interstate 405 — the nation’s busiest highway — as well as the Getty Museum and the Bel Air neighborhood. By early Thursday morning, firefighters said they were able to contain it.

He added: “The situation we are in today is completely different from what we were in 16 days ago.” Los Angeles Anthony Marrone, the county’s fire chief, said Wednesday evening.

Red flag warnings were extended until 10 a.m. Friday in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Officials remained concerned that the Palisades and Eaton fires could break containment lines as firefighters continue to monitor hot spots.

An evacuation warning was issued for Sherman Oaks, where an approximate 10-acre (4 ha) fire was burning on Sepulveda Pass near I-405. The fire was first reported just after 11pm on Wednesday.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said more than 31,000 people have been ordered to evacuate from the Hughes Fire, and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings. There were no reports of homes or other buildings being burned.

Portions of Interstate 5 near the Hughes Fire that were closed Wednesday evening have reopened.

A distance of 30 miles from the main artery linking north and south was closed to emergency vehicles, transporting equipment and preventing accidents due to smoke rising through it. Crews on the ground and in water-dropping planes tried to keep the wind-driven flames from moving across the highway and toward Castaic.

Because the winds were not as strong as they were two weeks ago, air crews were able to drop fire retardant on the south side of the fire, where the flames were moving, Marrone said. He added that more than 4,000 firefighters were assigned to put out the fire.

Winds in the area were blowing at 42 mph in the afternoon. Winds had reached 65 mph in some mountainous pockets by Wednesday night, according to David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Kayla Amara drove to the Stonegate neighborhood in Castaic to collect items from the home of a friend who was rushing to pick up her daughter from preschool. While Amara was packing her luggage into the car, she learned that the size of the fire had exploded and decided to flood the property with a water hose.

“Other people are cleaning up their homes, too. I hope there is a home here to return to,” Amara said as police cars raced through the streets and flames burned trees on a hillside in the distance.

Amara, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she had been on edge for weeks when major fires devastated the south of the country. ca.

“It was stressful because of those other fires, but now that this one is close to home, it’s even more stressful,” she said.

Further south, Los Angeles officials began preparing for possible rain even as some residents were allowed to return to the charred areas of Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday filed criminal charges against a La Cañada Flintridge real estate agent for allegedly raising the price of rental properties by nearly 40%. With thousands of people searching for new homes, rent and real estate prices are rising We are Growing anxiety.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Monday it was still searching for 22 people missing after fires broke out in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas.

The stormy weather is expected to continue until Thursday, and rain is possible starting Saturday, according to the Meteorological Department.

The Associated Press contributed reporting