Hughes Fire breaks out near Castaic Lake as strong winds, dry conditions linger across SoCal

Several schools in near Castaic were forced to evacuate and close Wednesday due to the Hughes Fire burning in the area.

The brush fire is ignited around 11 a.m. at Lake Hughes Road.

Northlake Hills Elementary School has been evacuated. Students were taken to the Aquatic Center at 31350 Castaic Road.

Castaic Elementary and Castaic Middle schools were evacuated. The students were taken to the Ralph's Market parking lot at 29675 the Old Road.

Castaic High School was evacuated.

All schools within the Castaic Union School District will be closed on Thursday, according to the district, which sent a message to staff and families Wednesday afternoon. District officials said its Educational Services Department will be sharing optional learning opportunities for your students during the closure.

Trinity Classical Academy in Valencia will also be closed on Thursday due to the fire.

The College of the Canyons closed for the day out of an abundance of caution.

Tesoro del Valle Elementary and West Creek Academy parents asked to pick up their children and all child care has been canceled for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution due to the fire.

The moment the Hughes Fire erupted near Castaic Lake was captured on camera.

Video recorded Wednesday from a U.C. San Diego camera captured the moment the rapidly growing blaze began.

Footage from a U.C. San Diego camera captured the moment the rapidly growing Hughes Fire erupted near Castaic Lake.

The fire triggered mandatory evacuations in the region.

A brush fire erupted amid powerful winds Wednesday afternoon in the Castaic area, spreading quickly to more than 3,400 acres near the 5 Freeway, officials said.

Fire crews from Los Angeles County and the Angeles National Forest were responding to the so-called Hughes Fire burning in the area of Lake Hughes Road.

A brush fire erupted amid powerful winds Wednesday afternoon in the Castaic area, spreading quickly to more than 500 acres near the 5 Freeway, officials said.

Evacuation orders and warnings were issued shortly after 11 a.m. according to an official map on Genasys.com.

No injuries were reported and no structures are being immediately threatened.

The cause of the fire was unknown.

Mandatory evacuations were issued Wednesday in the Castaic area due to the fast-spreading Hughes Fire.

CAL FIRE's map shows the evacuation zones.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the following zones, according to CAL FIRE:

CAS-BISCAILUZ
CAS-BITTERCANYON
CAS-CAMBRIDGE
CAS-CASTAICLAKE
CAS-CHARLIECANYON
CAS-GOLDENSTATE
CAS-GREENHILL
CAS-HASLEY
CAS-HILLCREST
CAS-PARADISERANCH
CAS-RIDGE
CAS-ROMERO
CAS-SLOAN
LAC-E008
LAC-E029
LAC-FRANCISQUITO
SCL-KELLYJOHNSON
SCL-REYESADOBE
SCL-STERLING
SCL-TESORODELVALLE
VNC Zone 1.

Evacuation warnings were issued for the following zones:

CAS-INDUSTRY
CAS-LIVEOAK
CAS-OAKCANYON
CAS-VALVERDE
GOR-E004
GOR-HUNGRYVALLEY
LAC-E005
LAC-E009-B
LAC-E011-A
LAC-E011-B
LAC-E016
LAC-E018
LAC-E030
SCL-BLACKPINE
SCL-CALEX
SCL-DECORO
SCL-MOUNTAINVIEW
SCL-PACIFICCREST
SCL-RANCHOTESORO
SCL-REYESABODE
SCL-RIONORTE
SCL-WESTHILLS
SCL-RYE
VNC Zone 2.

Road closures

- Ridge Route Rd at Lake Hughes
- Ridge Route Rd at Templin Hwy
- Lake Hughes at Pine Cyn
- Dry Gulch at San Francisquito Cyn Rd
- I-5 NB at Parker Rd Off Ramp and I-5 NB at Lake Hughes Rd off ramp will be shut down.
- Northbound I-5 all lanes closed just north of State Route 126.
- I-5 Grapevine

Evacuation shelters
- Evacuation center: Valencia High School - 27801 Dickson Dr, Valencia, CA 91355

A map of the Hughes Fire shows the multiple evacuation zones near Castaic Lake north of the Santa Clarita area.