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Firefighters in Southern California conducted another fierce wildfire fight on Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
Crews raced to contain the massive Hughes Fire in Los Angeles County while another blaze broke out near a busy freeway, impacting travel in the region.
Officials with CAL FIRE said the Sepulveda Fire broke out near the heavily traveled 405 Freeway in the area of North Sepulveda Boulevard and Getty Center Drive near Sherman Oaks.
Crews on the ground and in the air worked tirelessly to get that fire under control. A few hours later, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) announced that all forward progress on the Sepulveda Fire had been stopped, and all evacuation warnings had been lifted.
No evacuation orders were announced, but some areas that had been placed under an evacuation warning had previously been impacted by the still-burning Palisades Fire.
The LAFD said no structures had been damaged, and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters were expected to remain on the scene through Wednesday night to monitor the area, and traffic on the 405 Freeway was likely to be impacted as crews worked alongside the freeway.
Hughes Fire triggers evacuation warnings
Firefighters were already hard at work trying to contain and extinguish the rapidly spreading Hughes Fire before the Sepulveda Fire broke out amid gusty Santa Ana winds that were continuing to plague Southern California.
The Hughes Fire exploded in size on Wednesday near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County, swelling to more than 10,000 acres by early Thursday morning. At one point, while the inferno was raging on Wednesday, it was estimated that more than 30 acres were being consumed by flames every minute.
More than 50,000 residents across the region were placed on alert, with several schools being located within the evacuation zone surrounding the fire.
Officials said students at North Lake Elementary School were evacuated to the Castaic Sports Complex, while all students at Castaic Middle School and Castaic Elementary School were evacuated to a location within Hasley Canyon.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was ready to keep inmates safe at the Pitchess Detention Center as the Hughes Fire raged nearby.
In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s department said they had several vehicles on standby should they be needed for inmate evacuations.
“We are working closely with Los Angeles County Fire to ensure the employees, and incarcerated population on the property remain safe,” officials said.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
Several major roadways that connect the Bakersfield area to the Los Angeles metro were temporarily shut down, including the busy Interstate 5 through the “Grapevine.”
On Wednesday night, California Highway Patrol said Interstate 5 northbound had been reopened, but several closures would remain in place.
Aerial video showed flames approaching I-5 near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, as winds pushed the blaze towards the south and west.
The area is well known for being home to Six Flags Magic Mountain, but the park appeared to be well outside of the initial fire zone.
Rain on the way but comes with risks
The FOX Forecast Center said an upper-level disturbance from the Pacific Ocean will likely swing into the region this weekend, bringing the first widespread rain in months.
The rain and mountain snow will begin on Saturday and peak in coverage on Sunday before winding down on Monday.
About a half-inch of rain may fall in the lower elevations, and multiple inches of snow is expected above 4,000 feet.
In the short term, the rain will benefit firefighters who are still battling wildfires in the Los Angeles area, but much more rain is needed.
And the rain, while beneficial, does present risks.
There is a risk of mudslides within burn-scar areas in Southern California, and officials warned that charred hillsides are in danger of giving way even if there isn’t rain.
The burned landscape, littered with broken water mains, and the influx of water from firefighting efforts have destabilized hillsides in the region.
