Firefighting aircraft and ground crews are battling a fast-moving wildfire in the Castaic Lake area north of Los Angeles.

one fast moving wildfires The fire broke out in the mountains north of Los Angeles, tearing through an estimated 21 square kilometers (8.1 square miles) of trees and brush, prompting thousands of evacuation orders for local residents and spewing huge plumes of black smoke into the sky.

Firefighters said Wednesday that evacuation orders were issued for residents of the Hughes Fire in the Castaic Lake area of ​​Los Angeles County, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the city of Los Angeles because of the “immediate threat to life” caused by the fire.

The local community is home to an estimated 18,600 people fierce flames Devouring trees and brush on the hillsides around Castaic Lake.

Robert Jensen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department urged everyone in areas affected by the fire to leave immediately and not suffer the same fate as some who suffered devastating fires in the Eaton and Palisade areas of Los Angeles and other areas. Caused 28 deaths and left thousands homeless.

“We saw with the Palisades and Eaton fires the devastation caused by people not following these orders,” Jensen said.

“I don’t want to see this in our community either. If you have an evacuation order, please get out,” he said.

U.S. television news showed police driving through the Castaic area, urging people to leave, as crews on the ground and in water planes struggled to prevent the wind-driven blaze from spreading southward into more populous foothill communities.

Strong, dry Santa Ana winds swept through the area, fanning the fires and kicking up huge plumes of smoke and embers in front of the flames.

Firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Los Angeles National Forest were also on the ground fighting the blaze.

It’s unclear what started the fire, but it occurred in red flag fire situation Meteorologists said strong winds and low humidity created conditions for the fire to spread quickly.

UC San Diego shared dramatic video of the start and rapid growth of the Hughes Fire on its ALERTCalifornia online platform, showing huge smoke clouds quickly forming as the fire spread up hillsides.

The start and rapid development of #huresfire Los Angeles County as seen from ALERTCalifornia’s Whitaker Ridge camera. Check the real-time status of multiple cameras: https://t.co/Azu4PbZNY7 and look forward to @Angeles_NF and @LACOFD for updates. pic.twitter.com/JyKOpyY2jx

— ALERTCalifornia (@ALERTCalifornia) January 22, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the Los Angeles area’s earlier response to wildfires in his inauguration speech on Monday and said he would travel to the city on Friday.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said that as new fires raged in Castaic, the Eaton Fire and Palisade Fire, which also ravaged Los Angeles, were better controlled.

The Eaton Fire has burned 5,674 hectares (14,021 acres) east of Los Angeles and is now 91% contained, while the larger Palisades Fire has burned 9,489 hectares (23,448 acres) west of Los Angeles and is now nearly contained control. Authorities say 70% are contained.

Cal Fire said the Eaton and Palisades fires have killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures since they broke out on Jan. 7.

According to Los Angeles County officials, at the height of the fires, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders.

AccuWeather, a private forecasting agency, predicts that the damage and economic damage caused by the fires around Los Angeles will exceed $250 billion.