Another fire burns thousands of acres in Castaic

A fast-moving brush fire, known as the Hughes fire, has quickly burned over 8,000 acres of thick vegetation near Castaic Lake today. It has forced mandatory evacuations in the lake area and into the heart of Castaic, with warnings stretching toward Santa Clarita and reaching the Ventura County line.

The Hughes Fire was reported at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in a remote area east of the lake, according to Cal Fire. Aided by gusting Santa Ana winds and thick, dry vegetation, the fire quickly expanded. The winds and dry terrain led to rampant spotting of the fire, allowing it to jump roadways.   

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for a wide area enveloping Castaic Lake, including the heart of Castaic. An even wider area fell under evacuation warnings as the fire quickly spread, including an area reaching Lake Piru in Ventura County west of Castaic.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said about 19,000 people were being evacuated from the area, and another 16,000 were under evacuation warnings as of early afternoon.

Luna said the sheriff's Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic was under an evacuation order, and about 476 inmates were being moved to a neighboring facility, likely the North County Correctional Facility. In an interview with KCAL9, Luna said the department consulted with the fire department, and the roughly 4,600 inmates being held at the jails in the area were sheltering in place, noting the concrete structures. But he said buses were being moved to the jails in case conditions changed and inmates need to be moved.

Multiple road closures were ordered in the area, including:

   -- Ridge Route Road at Lake Hughes;

   -- Ridge Route Road at Templin Highway;

   -- Lake Hughes at Pine Canyon; and

   -- Dry Gulch at San Francisquito Canyon Road.

The Golden State (5) Freeway was closed in both directions between Grapevine Road on the north and state Route 126 on the south. According to Caltrans, the connector ramp from westbound state Route 138 to the southbound 5 was closed, but the ramp to the northbound 5 remained open.

More than a dozen water- and retardant-dropping aircraft were on the scene, including the county's two leased Super Scooper fixed-wing planes. Firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest were attacking the blaze.

It was unclear what sparked the fire, which occurred during persistent red flag fire conditions that had been expected to expire Thursday night, but were extended until 10 a.m. Friday. The National Weather Service reportedwinds in the Castaic Lake area ranging from about 12 to as high as 42 mph Wednesday afternoon.

“Northeast winds will be increasing over the next few hours, especially over lower elevations,'' NWS officials said about the Hughes Fire area.

Winds were expected to increase again Thursday, peaking in the morning and afternoon hours. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Northlake Hills Elementary School just west of Castaic Lake was evacuated, with students taken to the Castaic Sports Complex. All students from Castaic Middle and Elementary schools were taken to the Ralphs parking lot at Hasley Canyon, where parents were able to retrieve their children. Castaic High School was also evacuated.

A temporary evacuation center for people displaced by the fire was originally established at Valencia High School, but as the fire spread, the center was relocated Wednesday afternoon to Hart High School, 24825 Newhall Ave., Santa Clarita.

Small animals can be taken to the Palmdale Animal Care Center, 38550 Sierra Highway. Small and large animals can be taken to Lancaster Animal Care Center, 5210 W. Avenue I. Large animals can also be taken to Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills.