LA fire: New wildfire in North Los Angeles forces over 50,000 to evacuate | Video emerges

More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings on Wednesday as a massive, fast-moving wildfire tore through the rugged mountains north of Los Angeles. Southern California was enduring another round of dangerous winds while two major fires continued to burn.

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The Hughes Fire ignited late in the morning and quickly scorched over 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) of trees and brush, sending thick plumes of smoke near Lake Castaic, a popular recreation spot about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the ongoing Eaton and Palisades fires, which have now been burning for three weeks, as reported by Associated Press.

“This fire had a robust response today, and as you can see behind us, the responders are doing great work to try to contain this fire," Joe Tyler, director of Cal Fire, said at a Wednesday evening press conference. “Certainly, we are not out of the woods yet.”

More than 31,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the fire remains difficult to contain but firefighters are getting the upper hand.

Parts of Interstate 5 that had been closed will shortly be reopened, Luna said.

A 30-mile (48-kilometer) section of the key north-south highway was closed to allow space for emergency vehicles and equipment. Ground crews and water-dropping aircraft worked to stop the wind-driven fire from crossing the interstate and advancing toward Castaic.

Marrone noted that since the winds weren’t as intense as they were two weeks ago, aircraft crews were able to drop tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant on the southern side of the fire, where the flames were spreading. Ongoing Wildfires in Southern California".

Winds in the area were gusting at 42 mph (67 kph) in the afternoon but were expected to increase to 60 mph (96 kph) by later in the evening and Thursday, the National Weather Service said on the social platform X.

(With inputs from AP)