Nearly 31,000 evacuated from Hughes Fire, north of Los Angeles

More than 50,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings due to the Hughes Fire that was unleashed this Wednesday morning in the mountainous area in the Castaic areanorth of Los Angeles, and which grew dizzyingly to reach 10,176 acres in less than a day.

The Hughes Fire erupted amid a red flag warning for intense Santa Ana winds which, combined with the conditions of low humidity and dry vegetation, increased the risk of a fire breaking out.

Quickly, Flames from the Hughes Fire devoured trees and vegetation near Castaic Lakea popular recreational area located about 40 miles north of the lands burned by the devastating Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Keep reading: Wind alert extends to Friday in Southern California

The intensity of the wind was not as intense as that which drove the two large fires in Los Angeles, allowing firefighting aircraft to drop tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant and By Wednesday night, 14% containment was reached..

“The situation we find ourselves in today It is very different from where we were 16 days ago“said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone on Wednesday night.

He National Weather Service extended the red flag warning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties until 10:00 a.m. Friday.

Keep reading: The 17 deaths from the Eaton fire occurred in areas where the evacuation alert was delayed

Officials are concerned that the wind will cause fires from the Eaton and Palisades fires can exceed control lines and start new fires.

More than 31,000 people ordered to evacuate due to the Hughes Firewhile another 23,000 people were under an evacuation warning, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, with no reports of structures affected by the fire.

Some sections of the 5 Freeway that were closed due to being in the Hughes Fire area They were reopened this Wednesday night.

Keep reading: Should rent be paid for houses destroyed by the Los Angeles fires?

A 30 mile stretch It was only open for emergency vehicles.to move equipment and to prevent accidents due to the intense smoke caused by the fire.

The purpose of the firefighting teams on the ground and the aircraft was to prevent the fire, driven by the wind, from could proceed across the highway towards Castaic.

Marrone mentioned that because the winds were not as strong as two weeks ago, the planes They were able to throw the fire retardant on the south side of the firedirection in which the flames were heading, which were being fought by more than 4,000 firefighters.

Keep reading: The fight continues to contain the Palisades Fire

In the area, the winds maintained a speed of 42 miles per hour in the afternoon, while at night, in some mountainous areas, they reached 65 miles per houraccording to NWS meteorologist David Roth.

Keep reading:
· Hispanic accused of starting fire in San Bernardino
· Relatives of victims who died in the California fires tell their stories
· Alert extended for strong winds in Southern California