By Ben Fritz, Victoria Albert and Alexa Corse

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- A fast-spreading wildfire sparked in northern Los Angeles County, prompting renewed fears of death and destruction in a region already decimated by historic wildfires this month.

The Hughes fire, which broke out north of Santa Clarita in the Castaic, Calif., area earlier Wednesday, has scorched more than 9,400 acres and is 0% contained, officials said. Evacuation orders have been issued for some 31,000 people, and an additional 23,000 were told to prepare to evacuate.

No lives have been lost or structures reported damaged in the blaze, which is being fought by some 4,000 firefighters.

Castaic is a remote, unincorporated part of northern Los Angeles County with a lake that draws many visitors in the summer. It has a population of about 19,000, but is close to the city of Santa Clarita, home to about 224,000 people and the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park.

At a press conference Wednesday evening, local officials speaking in front of large plumes of gray smoke said winds weren't as strong as during the infernos two weeks ago, allowing them to drop tens of thousands of gallons of retardant from the sky. In addition, firefighters from across the U.S. and overseas have surged to L.A. this month and were able to deploy quickly.

"The situation remains dynamic and the fire remains a difficult one to contain, although we are getting the upper hand," said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Maroni.

Still, officials said that a red-flag warning for dangerous fire conditions is in effect through Friday morning and drought conditions have left the area vulnerable.

"Although we're not under a particularly dangerous situation in terms of the wind, our wildfire vegetation situation is critical," said Robert Garcia, fire chief for the Angeles National Forest, which is affected by the blaze.

Denise Okamoto, a 63-year-old retiree from Castaic, evacuated after police drove through her neighborhood with sirens on, telling people to leave. She and her sister brought four dogs with them to a high school in Santa Clarita serving as an evacuation center. "I'm just praying that we still have a house," she said.

Officials briefly closed a stretch of Interstate 5 in the Santa Clarita area due to heavy smoke but said they would reopen it after the wind shifted.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his department was prepared to evacuate some 4,500 inmates from a nearby jail if necessary. For now, 476 people were moved from one part of the facility to another that is more secure.

Winds are expected in the area overnight, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. At high elevations, gusts are likely to hit 40 to 50 miles an hour before strengthening overnight, Kittell said; those at lower elevations are likely to see winds at 25 to 35 mph.

Heavy winds returned to the Los Angeles area this week after firefighters made progress containing the wind-driven wildfires that killed more than two dozen people and devastated neighborhoods including the Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

Residents displaced by the fires in the Palisades and Altadena are now returning to their communities. Before the Hughes fire sparked Wednesday, Luna said more than 14,000 residents across the county were under evacuation orders -- a significantly lower number than the tens of thousands forced to flee their homes at the peak of the Palisades and Eaton fires.

The more than 23,000-acre Palisades fire was 68% contained and the more than 14,000-acre Eaton fire was 91% contained Wednesday. Together, these fires destroyed over 15,000 homes, businesses and other structures. At least 28 people died.

In 2025, 240 wildfires have burned through 40,462 acres, according to preliminary estimates from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection -- far more than the five-year-average of 453 acres burned at this point in the year.

--Jennifer Calfas contributed to this article.

Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com, Victoria Albert at victoria.albert@wsj.com and Alexa Corse at alexa.corse@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2025 21:12 ET (02:12 GMT)

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