Hughes Fire Reaches 10,000 Acres, ‘Possible Flash Flooding Threat’ Issued for Saturday

It’s been 16 days since the Palisades and Eaton fires first began raging, and as of Thursday, Southern California firefighters are now battling six wildfires.

After igniting on Wednesday morning, the Hughes fire in Castaic just north of Santa Clarita has now reached 10,176 acres and is currently at 14% containment. More than 54,000 people were initially under evacuation orders and/or warnings, but no structures were reported having been destroyed into Thursday.

“We had helicopters dropping water until around 3 a.m. That kept it in check,” firefighter Jeremy Ruiz said of containing the blaze overnight.

Elsewhere, two new fires — the Laguna fire in Ventura county and the Sepulveda fire just east of the Pacific Palisades — popped up on Thursday. Thankfully, forward progression has stopped on the latter, with containment at 60% after burning 45 acres, while the former remains 0% contained at 50 acres. Tuesday’s Clay fire in Riverside is 70% contained at 39 acres.

While the Eaton fire is nearly contained at 95% after burning 14,021 acres, the Palisades fire has now reached 23,448 acres at 72% containment.

In total, the L.A. wildfires have now burned just over 50,000 acres since they began on Jan. 7. Additionally, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 15,798 structures have been destroyed.

On Thursday at 12 noon PT, the Los Angeles Fire Department reduced the Palisades fire’s evacuation zones to resident-only access. Authorities also warn of dangers like “flash flooding and debris flows to structural instability and compromised trees” in the days ahead.

The National Weather Service has issued a Critical Risk of Fire Weather notice for Thursday and a lesser Elevated Fire Weather Outlook for Friday. However, there is also a possible flash flooding threat for Saturday due to “isolated heavy rain.”

Furthermore, LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart noted in a Thursday press release that free, ready-to-fill sandbags are available at all local fire stations (as well as sand at select locations) in preparation for potential rainstorms.

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