Evacuation orders for tens of thousands of Californians have been lifted in some areas as firefighters battling the three largest blazes still burning in Los Angeles make progress in containing the flames.
A red flag emergency warning for fire danger was extended Friday local time, after more fires burned in the city of San Diego and on the Mexican border to the south.
The area continues to face challenges in containing the fire, as dangerous winds picked up again on Thursday.
Firefighters in Los Angeles are beginning to make further progress on wildfires still burning in Southern California. (AP: JC Hong)
The Hughes fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day burned more than 4,207 hectares of trees and brush near Castac Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 km) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires. which has been burning since the third week.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire), crews made significant progress in containing the Hughes Fire by late afternoon, with more than 36 percent contained.
New satellite images also highlight the extent of the Hughes fire burning in the mountains along Caustic Lake, north of Santa Clarita.
Officials said Thursday evening that the Palisades fire — the largest and most destructive in L.A.’s history — was 77 percent contained after burning through nearly 10,000 hectares, while northern Pasadena and Altadena were burning. The Eaton fire is 95 percent contained after burning more than 5,674 people. Hector
The two new fires reported in the San Diego area are not contained and have been named the Gilman Fire and the Border 2 Fire.
The Gilman fire is burning south of the affluent enclave of La Jolla near the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and burned just over a hectare of land before firefighters contained its rapid spread.
The Border 2 fire was spreading through the Otay Mountain Wilderness on Thursday and has burned more than 229 hectares of land that is home to the endangered quinoa checkered spot butterfly and other unique species.
Earlier, a new fire called the Laguna fire prompted a new evacuation order for the California State University Channel Islands campus in Camarillo, but that order was lifted after water-bombing helicopters responded to the fire. was immediately reduced.
Rain is forecast for the weekend, possibly ending months of Southern California’s dry spell, and winds are not as strong as they were on Jan. 7 when the Palisades and Eaton fires first hit. .
It also helped fight the Hughes fire, allowing helicopters to drop water to keep it from growing, fire spokesman Jeremy Ruiz said.
Water-bombing helicopters were tasked with extinguishing the flames of the Hughes fire, which was burning north of downtown LA. (AP: Marcio Jose Sanchez)
“We had helicopters dropping water until 3 in the morning,” he said.
Officials have welcomed the wet weather, but emergency crews are edging hillsides and erecting barriers to stem debris flows as residents return to the burned Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas.
About 54,000 residents in the Castaic area were under evacuation warnings Thursday, but there were no reports of homes or other structures burning, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The fires in California have caused at least $US28 billion ($44.2 billion) in total insured losses and uninsured losses, according to disaster modeling firm Karen Clark & Company.
After the review, California Republicans are pushing back against proposals by President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others that federal disaster aid for wildfire victims should come with strings attached.
The flames of the Hughes Fire spread quickly and rapidly through the mountains near Castaic Lake. (AP: Ethan Swipe)
In an interview with Fox News that aired Wednesday local time, Mr. Trump threatened to cut off federal funding if California did not change its water management.
“I don’t think we should give anything to California unless they let the water flow,” the president said during an interview at the White House.
California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has responded to some of Mr. Trump’s criticism of his state, saying his comments about California’s water management are related to issues related to the possible cause of the fires and their response. are completely unrelated.
Mr. Trump said California’s conservation efforts in the northern part of the state were responsible for fire hydrants drying up around Los Angeles, which Mr. Newsom said was a misrepresentation or misunderstanding when Firefighters tackled the blaze when three local reservoirs ran out of water in the Palisades area.
About 54,000 residents of the Castaic region are still being warned to evacuate, but there are no reports of homes or buildings burning. (AP: Ethan Swipe)
“The state water project has nothing to do with water supply as much as it does with fire suppression for municipal systems,” Mr. Newsom said at a press conference.
“It’s very damaging when people believe such misinformation.”
The state Legislature on Thursday approved a fire relief package worth more than $2.5 billion ($3.95 billion), part of which is to help the Los Angeles area recover from the blaze.
Mr. Trump plans to travel to the state Friday to see the damage firsthand, but it is unclear whether he and Governor Newsom will meet during the visit.
AP/Reuters
