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31,000 forced to evacuate Hughes fire in northern Los Angeles County

By Mike Heuer
Thick smoke rises beyond the Magic Mountain amusement park near Santa Clarita, Calif., on Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Ted Soqui/EPA-EFE
1 of 3 | Thick smoke rises beyond the Magic Mountain amusement park near Santa Clarita, Calif., on Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Ted Soqui/EPA-EFE

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Continued strong winds and dry conditions on Wednesday morning rapidly spread a fire near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County and has burned through 8,096 acres.

Thousands have evacuated the area as the uncontained Hughes fire continues burning and forced the closure of the I-5 freeway in the Santa Clarita Valley on Wednesday afternoon, SF Gate reported.

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Motorists are advised to detour on to State Route 126 or State Route 14 while traveling through the area or while evacuating from the fire.

Thick and dry underbrush is fueling the fast-moving fire that nearly doubled in size from Wednesday afternoon into the early evening hours, according to Cal Fire.

Local officials have ordered 31,000 to evacuate local communities as strong northeasterly winds continue blowing through the night with gusts of up to 65 mph.

Red flag warnings are in effect in the area until at least 8 p.m. PST Thursday, The National Weather Service Los Angeles said on Tuesday.

Firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Angeles National Forest are battling the blaze but have not made any headway due to the wind, thick underbrush and dry conditions.

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Emergency personnel have converted the Castaic Sports Complex into a fire command center, and local students at Castaic middle and elementary schools were take to a Ralphs grocery store parking lot in Hasley Canyon Village so their parents could pick them up.

Students at North Lake Elementary School were evacuated to the Castaic Sports Complex.

Officials at the Pitchess Detention Center evacuated 476 inmates from that location and transferred them to the North County Correctional Facility.

The Angeles National Forest has been closed due to the dry conditions and recent fires in Southern California.

A much smaller fire in San Diego County also flared upon Wednesday and is uncontained but only has burned through four acres.

The fire could spread quickly given the dry and persistently windy conditions due to the Santa Ana winds.

Elsewhere, Cal Fire says the Palisades fire is 68% contained after burning 23,448 acres since igniting on Jan. 7.

The Eaton fire is 91% contained and has burned 14,201 acres since it also started on Jan. 7.

The Lilac fire in San Diego County and Clay fire in Riverside County both ignited on Tuesday.

The Lilac fire is 90% contained after burning 85 acres and the Clay fire 45% contained after burning 38 acres, according to Cal Fire.

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