The Hughes Fire in Castaic, north of Los Angeles, prompted evacuations and shut down a vital part of California's freeway system.

The Hughes Fire, reported shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday near Castaic Lake, prompted evacuation of a 280-square-mile area north of Los Angeles. The map above shows the mandatory evacuation area in red and the approximate perimeter as a black line.

Firefighters from Cal Fire, Shasta Lake and Mountain Gate fire departments are working the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Jessica Skropanic is a feature

The Palisades and Eaton wildfires also continue burning in the Los Angeles area, leaving parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

The Hughes fire seen from Magic Mountain has started north of Castaic and has exploded to more than 5,000 acres in under two hours on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Castaic, California. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS) (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an order Thursday making $2.5 billion available for response and recovery efforts as fire weary residents brace for yet another threat as Santa Ana winds fan the flames of more fire.

The fire threat remains critical in Southern California, where thousands of residents were under evacuation orders Wednesday as fire crews battled the out-of-control Hughes Fire near Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

At least 28 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.

President Donald Trump will visit areas devastated by floods in North Carolina and fires in California, as debates rage about recovery and funding.

More than two weeks after flames erupted in densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles, firefighters were still struggling to put out the Eaton and Palisades fires. Those blazes — which left at least 28 people dead and destroyed more than 16,

A large brush fire that erupted near Interstate 5 in Castaic has burned more than 10,000 acres, causing several evacuation orders and warnings Wednesday morning

Firefighters made quick work of a brush fire that broke out overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. — prompting evacuation warnings along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass. Within hours, forward progress of the brush fire was stopped at about 40 acres, officials reported.