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

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Last updated: Thursday, January 23, 2025 2:51AM GMT
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A brush fire ignited Wednesday near Castaic Lake in north Los Angeles County amid windy and dry conditions.

The blaze, called the Hughes Fire, erupted around 10:30 a.m. and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

Red-flag warnings for critical fire risk were extended through Friday morning across L.A. and Ventura counties.

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Jan 23, 2025, 2:34 AM

Hughes Fire map shows evacuation zones in Castaic

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.

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.
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Jan 22, 2025, 11:51 PM GMT

Hughes Fire inches dangerously close to water filtration plant

Flames from the massive Hughes Fire were seen inching extremely close to a local water treatment facility on Wednesday.

AIR7 flying overhead captured video of flames directly along the border of the Earl Schmidt Filtration Plant, which is located along Lake Hughes Road in Castaic.

The plant is part of the mandatory evacuation zone.

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Jan 22, 2025, 11:15 PM GMT

New video shows view of Hughes Fire from space

New video shows a view of the Hughes Fire from space.

The footage was captured around 2:17 p.m. from a 4K camera platform on the International Space Station. It was posted on the ISS Above X account.

New video shows a view of the Hughes Fire from space.
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Jan 22, 2025, 10:59 PM GMT

476 inmates evacuated from Pitchess Detention Center due to fire

Hundreds of inmates were evacuated from the Pitchess Detention Center due to the Hughes Fire on Wednesday.

The facility is located along The Old Road in Castaic.

Sheriff's officials said 476 inmates were evacuated to North County Correctional Facility for safety.

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Jan 22, 2025, 11:21 PM GMT

5 Freeway shut down at 126 due to rapidly spreading flames

The 5 Freeway is shut down through the Grapevinejust north of State Route 126 due to the rapidly spreading flames from the Hughes Fire.

Lanes will be closed for an unknown duration.

You can useQuickMapor Google Maps to find alternate routes.