Progress on fire north of Los Angeles as new fires break out in Southern California: NPR
The facility is located on Sepulveda Blvd. As Interstate 405 burned in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 23, 2025.
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Mark J. Terrill/AP/AP
LOS ANGELES – Thousands of evacuation orders were lifted Thursday as air-braced firefighters slowed the spread of a massive wildfire spreading across the rugged mountains north of Los Angeles but new blazes broke out in San Diego County, More evacuations were briefly triggered.
Southern California is warning of dangerous fire risks through Friday. The region has faced ongoing challenges in controlling fires as dangerous winds have once again gained strength.
The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday evening and in less than a day scorched nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brushed through Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area just a stone's throw from the destructive Eaton and The Palisades Fire burns about 40 miles (64 kilometers) into its third week.
Late in the afternoon, crews made significant progress on the Hughes Fire, with more than a third of their crews on board.
Two new fires were reported Thursday in the San Diego area. Evacuations were ordered but were later lifted late in the afternoon after a brush fire broke out in the affluent enclave of La Jolla at the University of California, San Diego. Farther south, near the U.S.-Mexico border, another fire spread quickly through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, home to the endangered Quinoa Checkerspot butterfly and other unique species.
In Ventura County, a new fire briefly prompted California State University Channel Islands to evacuate Camarillo. Water helicopters are making rapid progress as the Laguna Fire breaks out in the hills above the campus of about 7,000 students. The evacuation order was later downgraded to a warning.
Rain is expected over the weekend, threatening to end Southern California's months-long dry spell. The winds were also not as strong as when the Palisade and Eaton fires broke out, allowing firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of retardant.
A helicopter drops water on flames as the Laguna Fire Fire breaks out in Camarillo, California, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.
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Fire spokesman Jeremy Ruiz said that was helpful in battling the Hughes Fire in the Kestake area north of Los Angeles by allowing helicopters to drop water that would stop it from growing.
“We had the helicopter dripping water until about 3am, which brought it under inspection,” he said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said nearly 54,000 residents in the Castaic area remained under evacuation warnings Thursday. There were no reports of homes or other structures burning.
Kayla Amara drove to the Stonegate neighborhood of Castaic on Wednesday to collect items from the home of a friend who was rushing to pick up her daughter from preschool. As Amara was packing her car, she learned of the massive fire explosion and decided to lower a hose on the property.
Amara, a nurse who lives near Valencia, said she has been on edge for weeks as the Major fire devastated Southern California.
“Other fires are stressful, but now that this is so far away from home, it's so stressful,” she said.
The Palisade fire was more than three-quarters of the way home and the Eaton Fire was under control Thursday. The two fires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out on January 7.
A vehicle rides up a hillside as flames blaze from the Hughes Fire in Custack, California, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.
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Rain is expected to begin, according to the National Weather Service. Officials welcomed the wet weather, but as residents returned to the scorched Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas, crews were also climbing hillsides and installing barriers to prevent the flow of debris.
Overall, the California fires caused at least $28 billion in insured losses, with more likely to be caused and possibly more uninsured damage, according to catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark and Company.
In the wake of this assessment, California Republicans are pushing back against suggestions from President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others that federal disaster aid to wildfire victims should come with an attached string of happy.
The state Legislature on Thursday approved a more than $2.5 billion firefighting package aimed in part at helping the Los Angeles region recover from fires.
Trump plans to travel to the state to see Friday's damage firsthand, but it's unclear whether he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will meet during the visit.