Hughes Fire grows to more than 10K acres, containment reaches 14%
The Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake has grown to about 10,176 acres and is 14% contained, according to the government website InciWeb.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- As fire danger continues in Southern California, firefighters are batting a new brush fire that erupted along the 405 Freeway in Seal Beach, as they also race to contain the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake.
The latest blaze started around 1 p.m. Thursday near the transition from the northbound 405 Freeway to the northbound 605 Freeway. CHP shut down the transition road from the 405 to the 605 - going both directions. All northbound 405 lanes were expected to be closed in the area.
Red-flag warnings for critical fire risk were extended through Friday morning across L.A. and Ventura counties.
Mandatory evacuations were issued Wednesday in the Castaic area due to the fast-spreading Hughes Fire.
CAL FIRE's map shows the evacuation zones.
CAS-BITTERCANYON
CAS-CASTAICLAKE
CAS-CHARLIECANYON
LAC-E008
LAC-E016.
CAS-BISCAILUZ
CAS-CAMBRIDGE
CAS-GOLDENSTATE
CAS-GREENHILL
CAS-HASLEY
CAS-HILLCREST
CAS-INDUSTRY
CAS-LIVEOAK
CAS-OAKCANYON
CAS-PARADISERANCH
CAS-RIDGE
CAS-ROMERO
CAS-SLOAN
CAS-VALVERDE
GOR-E004
GOR-HUNGRYVALLEY
LAC-E005
LAC-E009-B
LAC-E011-A
LAC-E017
LAC-E018
LAC-E029
LAC-E030
LAC-FRANCISQUITO
SCL-BLACKPINE
SCL-CALEX
SCL-DECORO
SCL-KELLYJOHNSON
SCL-MOUNTAINVIEW
SCL-PACIFICCREST
SCL-RANCHOTESORO
SCL-REYESABODE
SCL-REYESADOBE
SCL-RIONORTE
SCL-RYE
SCL-TESORODELAVALLE
SCL-WESTHILLS
SLC-REYESADOBE
SLC-STERLING
- 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: College of the Canyons East Gym at 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
The Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake has grown to about 10,176 acres and is 14% contained, according to the government website InciWeb.
Interstate 5 between State Route 126 and Grapevine Road has reopened in both directions, Caltrans announced Wednesday evening.
That stretch of the 5 had been shut down due to the Hughes Fire.
Caltrans says the Lake Hughes Road and Parker Road off-ramps from the northbound I-5 remain closed.
Crews are gaining an upper hand on the Hughes Fire, which has not yet damaged or destroyed any structures, officials confirmed.
L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said approximately 4,000 firefighting personnel have been assigned to battle the blaze, which has charred more than 9,000 acres by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Fortunately, no structures were destroyed or damaged by the fire. And the fire chief intends to keep it that way.
He said there are plans in place for crews to stay on the scene throughout the night to gain more perimeter control and to attack any hot spots that may erupt.
A red flag warning was extended Wednesday afternoon and is now in effect through Friday morning for most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to extremely low humidity and offshore wind gusts, according to the National Weather Service.
The windy conditions are expected to strengthen or expand Wednesday night or Thursday morning, with winds peaking Thursday. The winds will increase to 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph by Thursday. The winds are expected to gradually decrease Thursday night into Friday.
Humidity will be extremely low with minimums under 10% and poor overnight recovery.
"While the winds will gradually weaken and shrink in coverage Thursday night through Friday morning, pockets of gusty winds and widespread extremely dry conditions will maintain Red Flag Warning conditions through Friday morning," the weather service said in an alert.