bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

An explosive new wildfire erupted north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and setting nerves jangling in an area still reeling from two deadly blazes.
Ferocious flames devoured hillsides near Castaic Lake, spreading rapidly to cover more than 3,800 hectares (9,400 acres) in just a few hours.
The fire was fanned by strong, dry Santa Ana winds racing through the area, pushing a vast pall of smoke and embers ahead of the firefront.
Evacuations were ordered for 31,000 people around the lake, which sits 56km (35 miles) north of Los Angeles, and close to the city of Santa Clarita.

“I’m just praying that our house doesn’t burn down,” one man told broadcaster KTLA as he packed his car.
The Hughes Fire came as the greater Los Angeles area was on edge after two enormous fires tore through America’s second largest metropolis, killing more than two dozen people and wreaking billions of dollars of devastation.
As California faces a massive rebuild, US President Donald Trump repeated his false claim that the state was improperly diverting water away from the site of the emergency, threatening to withhold federal funds as a result.
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into their system” from the north of the state, Trump said in an interview on Fox News aired Wednesday evening.
Los Angeles’ water supplies are mainly fed via aqueducts and canals originating from entirely separate river basins further east.
Around 4,000 firefighting personnel, backed up by aircraft and bulldozers, surged to the new blaze, a massive response that Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said was paying dividends.

“The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” he told an evening press conference.
“We are going to be on scene all night long, gaining more perimeter control, making sure that we can put out the hotspots, and then have enough resources and staging so that if we do have a flare up, we can move those resources to the fire line.”
The hopeful tone came after a nervous day for the region, where many people remained glued to television coverage of the aerial firefight – scenes that became common during lengthy battles to contain the Eaton and Palisades Fires.
Helicopters dropped water and planes dumped tens of thousands of fire retardant, laying down lines of red intended to corral the flames and pinch the firefront.
The fleet included two Super Scoopers – enormous amphibious planes that can carry hundreds of litres of water – as well as DC-10 jets and dual rotor helicopters.
Crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest also attacked the blaze from the ground.


Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic was under an evacuation order, and about 500 inmates had been moved to a neighbouring facility.
Around 4,600 inmates held at other jails in the area were sheltering in place, but buses were on hand in case conditions changed and they needed to be moved, he said.
California Highway Patrol closed the I5 freeway for several hours, severing a major artery that runs the length of the US west coast.
The freeway reopened during rush hour, but had bumper-to-bumper traffic, as thousands of drivers inched home.
Cal Fire’s Brent Pascua said conditions had come together to make the fire especially volatile.
“We’re getting the winds, we’re getting the low [humidity], and this brush hasn’t seen any moisture in so long,” he said.
“That all combined together is just making this fire spread extremely fast.”
Winds were expected to continue overnight and into Thursday.
Human activity, including the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is changing Earth’s climate, increasing average global temperatures and altering weather patterns.
Even though January is the middle of the region’s rainy season, Southern California has not seen any significant precipitation in around eight months, leaving the countryside tinder dry.


US moves Typhon missile system to new site in Philippines amid China tensions

Saudi crown prince vows US$600 billion investment in call with Trump

High-level EU-China talks to resume as top diplomats slated to meet in Munich

Positive US-China ties top concern for Hong Kong-based businesses: AmCham poll

United States

Explosive new wildfire erupts near Los Angeles, forcing thousands to flee

Flames rise behind vehicles as the Hughes Fire burns in Castaic Lake, California. Photo: Reuters

A helicopter drops water on the Hughes Fire. Photo: AP

A person sprays down a home. Photo: Reuters

In Los Angeles, burning Teslas add to toxic mix of pollution delaying return of fire evacuees

A Tesla is destroyed due to the Palisades Fire on January 8. Photo: Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

A Tesla car in the driveway of building destroyed by the Eaton Fire, in Altadena. Photo: AP

Melted metal from a vehicle destroyed by fire. Photo: Reuters

Los Angeles wildfires could spawn fire tornadoes, experts warn

A fire tornado near Wrightwood, California in 2016. File photo: AFP

A firefighter sprays water on a burning home on January 8. Photo: TNS

A fire tornado near Redding, California in 2018. File photo: Cal Fire via AP

Homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Photo: AFP

Devastating Los Angeles wildfires prompt 2028 Olympics debate

Buildings in downtown Los Angeles shrouded by smoke from multiple wildfires on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

An aerial view of homes destroyed in Pacific Palisades, California. Photo: AFP

Smoke shrouds the Rose Bowl on January 8. The stadium will host football at the 2028 Games. Photo: AFP

A firefighting helicopter flies past the downtown Los Angeles cityscape. Photo: AFP

Numerous historic landmarks lost in Los Angeles wildfires

The Andrew McNally House, a historical landmark, burns during the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, on January 8. Photo: AFP

Will Rogers’ historic ranch house in ruins. Photo: Jonathan Alcorn/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Altadena’s Bunny Museum burned down amid the Eaton fire. Photo: TNS

The Palisades’ Business Block was severely damaged by the fire that tore through the area. Photo: San Francisco Chronicle via AP

News

World

United States & Canada

The fast-moving Hughes Fire stoked fresh fears in a region already devastated by two weeks of deadly infernos


The fast-moving Hughes Fire stoked fresh fears in a region already devastated by two weeks of deadly infernos.


Natural disasters

Weather

Extreme weather

Environment