(CNN) — Fire crews are battling a swiftly growing blaze dubbed the Hughes Fire burning near the town of Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County. The fire grew to more than 5,000 acres in two hours, and residents in the immediate vicinity of Castaic Lake are under mandatory evacuations, according to the LA County Fire Department.
At the rate it’s going, the blaze is burning a football field-sized area every 2 to 3 seconds. Winds in the area are currently around 20 mph and pushing flames toward the southwest, with wind gusts up to 30-40 mph at some spots, according to the National Weather Service.
Smoke is visible as far south as the city of Oxnard in Ventura County, city officials said on social media Wednesday. Oxnard is about 50 miles southwest of Castaic.
Images showed a large plume of smoke moving west toward Interstate 5 as flames burned near Castaic Lake in the grassy hills just north of Santa Clarita.
Thick brush in the area is serving as fuel for the rapid fire spread, according to Angeles National Forest spokesperson Dana Dierkes.
“We’re in fairly steep conditions” and it’s “incredibly dry,” Dierkes told CNN affiliate KCAL on Wednesday. “There are homes in the general vicinity and in the immediate area.”
Fire officials previously told KCAL at least 10 firefighting aircraft had been requested for the aerial attack.
The entirety of Angeles National Forest is closed to the general public through January 24, according to the US Forest Service.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
