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Massive
new Los
Angeles-area
fire
balloons
as winds
pick up
David
Swanson,
Brendan
O'Brien
5–6
minutes
CASTAIC,
CA -
Powerful
winds
and
bone-dry
conditions
could
pose a
challenge
to
firefighters
battling
new
wildfires
in
southern
California
on
Thursday,
including
a blaze
that
swelled
over the
past day
and
forced
tens of
thousands
of
evacuations
north of
Los
Angeles.
The
Hughes
fire,
about 50
miles
(80 km)
north of
Los
Angeles,
grew to
10,176
acres
(4,118
hectares)
since
igniting
on
Wednesday
morning,
the
California
Department
of
Forestry
and Fire
Protection,
or Cal
Fire,
said on
its
website.
The
4,000
firefighters
battling
the
blaze
have
achieved
14%
containment,
a
measure
of the
percentage
of a
fire's
perimeter
brought
under
control,
Cal Fire
added.
Crews
fighting
the
Hughes
Fire and
two
other
massive
Los
Angeles
blazes -
Palisades
and
Eaton -
were
expected
to be
tested
by
strong
Santa
Ana
winds of
up to 50
mph (80
kph)
with
gusts
reaching
65 mph
and
humidity
levels
dropping
below
10% into
Friday,
forecasters
said.
"Dangerous
fire
weather
conditions
will
persist
through
Friday
as fuels
remain
extremely
dry and
ready to
burn,
with
Thursday
the
period
of
greatest
concern,"
the
National
Weather
Service
said in
an
advisory.
"Any
fire
that
starts
can grow
fast and
out of
control."
About
31,000
people
were
evacuated
on
Wednesday
as the
fire
sent
huge
flames
and
plumes
of smoke
over a
hilly
terrain
in the
Castaic
Lake
area
near
Santa
Clarita.
The
Eaton
and
Palisades
fires,
which
leveled
entire
neighborhoods
on the
eastern
and
western
flanks
of Los
Angeles,
have
killed
28
people
and
damaged
or
destroyed
nearly
16,000
structures
over the
past two
weeks.
Helicopters
battling
the
Hughes
Fire
scooped
water
out of a
lake to
drop on
the fire
while
airplanes
dropped
fire
retardant
on the
hills,
video on
KTLA
television
showed.
Flames
spread
to the
water's
edge.
Eyewitness
video
showed
the
skies
north of
Los
Angeles
tinted
orange
on
Wednesday
afternoon
as the
Hughes
Fire
expanded
rapidly.
A
smaller
blaze,
the
Sepulveda
Fire,
was
burning
along
the 405
freeway
near the
Getty
Museum -
home to
numerous
art
treasures
- in the
San
Fernando
Valley
on
Thursday.
The
brush
fire,
which
was 40
acres
(16
hectares)
and 0%
contained,
briefly
caused
part of
the
heavily
traveled
highway
to be
closed
and some
nearby
residents
to be
evacuated
overnight.
Southern
California
has gone
without
significant
rain for
nine
months,
contributing
to
hazardous
conditions,
but some
rain was
forecast
from
Saturday
through
Monday,
possibly
giving
firefighters
much-needed
relief.
The rain
could
cause
mudslides,
Los
Angeles
Mayor
Karen
Bass
warned
during a
news
conference
on
Wednesday,
saying
that the
city was
taking
"aggressive
action"
by
installing
barriers,
removing
fire
debris
and
diverting
stormwater.
As of
Thursday
morning,
the
Eaton
Fire
that
scorched
about
14,000
acres
(5,670
hectares)
east of
Los
Angeles
was 95%
contained,
while
the
larger
Palisades
Fire,
which
has
consumed
about
23,450
acres
(9,490
hectares)
on the
west
side of
Los
Angeles,
stood at
70%
contained,
Cal Fire
said.
U.S.
President
Donald
Trump,
who has
sharply
criticized
California's
response
to the
wildfires,
is
expected
to visit
the area
and
survey
the
damage
on
Friday.
During
an
interview
with Fox
News on
Wednesday,
Trump
said he
may shut
off
federal
funding
if the
state
does not
alter
its
water
management.
"I don't
think we
should
give
California
anything
until
they let
water
flow,"
Trump
said
during
the
interview
at the
White
House, a
day
after he
issued
an
executive
order to
increase
the
availability
of water
in
California.
Trump
says
California
conservation
efforts
in the
northern
part of
the
state
are
responsible
for fire
hydrants
running
dry
around
Los
Angeles,
an
assertion
that
Governor
Gavin
Newsom
has
dismissed.
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