ALMOST 20,000 residents were compelled to leave their homes after a powerful new fire in LA grew ten times larger in just two hours – an expert cautioning that it might escalate significantly.
The Hughes Fire erupted from 500 to more than 5,000 acres after it was sparked just before 11 am on Wednesday near Castaic Lake, California.
The raging flames swiftly spread across arid hills and massive clouds of thick smoke rose into the sky, leading to a notice of an “urgent danger to lives.”
Around 19,000 people had been ordered to evacuate by 2:30pm, officials told KTLA, with thousands more affected by evacuation warnings.
This fire is causing extensive damage to a region already struggling with previous wildfires, as a significant part of Southern California is still on high alert due to the elevated risk of further outbreaks.
This furnace is around 40 miles from the catastrophic Eaton and Palisades fires that continue to burn for a third week.
Crews battled the blaze from the ground and the skies, desperate to control the flames ripping through ground the size of 23 football pitches every minute.
Jacob Weigler, a wildfire expert, said: “That one’s gonna go nuclear. It’s big,” about the Hughes blaze.
“You know what the fuels are capable of doing in that area right now, and what the wind does is going to be a big deal for this,” he added.
Weigler said he had been in contact with colleagues near the scene and that an initial information from fire services suggested a potentially massive disaster.
Kayla Amara drove to Castaic’s Stonegate neighborhood to collect items from the home of a friend who had rushed to pick up her daughter at preschool.
As she was packing the car, Kayla learned the fire had exploded in size and decided to hose down the property.
She said: “Other people are hosing down their houses, too. I hope there’s a house here to return to,” as cop cars raced through the streets and flames ripped through trees on a distant hillside.
Kayla, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she’s been on edge for weeks as major blazes devastated Southern California.
“Its been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one is close to home it’s just super stressful,” she said.
It is not clear what caused the fire, but that is being investigated.
Todd Hall, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said on Wednesday: “We’re going to see another round of critical fire conditions across Southern California.
“At this point, it sounds like a broken record.”
The Eaton Fire that scorched 14,021 acres east of Los Angeles was 91 percent contained on Wednesday, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 23,448 acres on the west side of Los Angeles, stood at 68 percent contained.
Firefighters from Angeles National Forest were responding, the US Forest Service confirmed, announcing that the entire 700,000-acre park in the San Gabriel Mountains was closed to visitors.
At least three schools were also closed as a precautionary measure, the California Highway Patrol said.
The fire is raging next to Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area and 13,000-acre reservoir that supplies water to the LA area.
Heavy traffic clogged surrounding roads on Wednesday as people raced to flee in time.
The state’s transport department announced that all lanes of the I-5 Freeway are closed between Grapevine Road and state Route 126.
Authorities were on the ground trying to keep people calm as the fire tore through new ground and evacuations were rolled out.
To the south, Los Angeles officials prepared for potential rain as some residents were allowed to return to the charred Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to usher along the cleanup efforts in burned areas and reduce the damage of of fire-related pollutants.
She ordered crews to remove vegetation, support the structures of hillsides and reinforce roads.
Los Angeles County supervisors also approved an emergency motion to install flood control infrastructure in fire-impacted areas.
Cop have arrested numerous “arsonists” suspected of trying to spark new flames in the LA area since the fires initially broke out.
One admitted he started a vicious blaze because he “liked the smell of burning leaves,” according to the city’s police chief.
He was caught in a citizen’s arrest but was not the only fire-starter police have had to deal with as the city continued to burn, Chief Jim McDonnell said during a press conference last week.
