Hughes Fire breaks out in LA County, explode to over 5,000 acres
A new Los Angeles County wildfire broke out on Wednesday near Castaic Lake, prompting evacuations of thousands of people as strong winds caused it to spread rapidly, officials said.
The Hughes Fire ignited around 11 a.m. Pacific time and grew to more than 5,000 acres in less than three hours, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
About 19,000 people in surrounding communities, including the city of Castaic, are under mandatory evacuation orders and another 16,000 residents are under evacuation warnings, officials said.

The blaze was burning near the southeast side of Lake Castaic off Interstate 5 in sparsely populated Bitter Canyon, about 45 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, according to Cal Fire.

Several I-5 offramps in the fire zone were closed, but the interstate remained open in both directions, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The fire was 0% contained and its cause was under investigation.

The fire erupted as gusty Santa Ana winds returned to the region, prompting the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for recreation areas around Lake Castaic and the nearby Paradise Ranch Mobile Home Park