Evacuation orders and warnings are in place. After igniting due to unknown causes just before 11 a.m. PST on Wednesday, the latest rapidly spreading Los Angeles County wildfire has already burned 5,

The Hughes Fire has spread over 8,096 acres after starting just before lunchtime in Los Angeles County's Castaic Lake area on Wednesday.

Photos taken of the Hughes Fire around Castaic Lake, California captured the massive blaze and cloud of smoke visible from Six Flags Magic Mountain.

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.

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)

Southern California braces for a ferocious return of fire danger as the National Weather Service issues its most urgent warning for extreme fire weather.

About 31,000 area residents were under evacuation orders and 23,000 under evacuation warnings Wednesday evening due to the Hughes Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

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.

The Hughes fire broke out near the Lake Castaic area of northern Los Angeles County, two weeks after blazes that claimed at least 28 lives and devastated the city broke out.

Despite dangerous wind conditions, fire crews made quick work of a brush fire near the Griffith Observatory. The extreme winds are posing another serious threat of wildfires across Southern California.