Aerial attack helps control LA fires but San Diego now a ‘red flag’

January 24, 2025 journo

By David Swanson and Brendan O’Brien

Updated January 24, 2025 — 11.25am

Los Angeles: Evacuation orders have been lifted for tens of thousands of people in the Los Angeles area as firefighters with air support slowed the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains to the north where dangerous winds gained strength again.

While down the coast, near San Diego new fires have started, forcing the fire department to put the region under a red flag warning for critical fire risk for the next two days.

The Los Angeles Hughes Fire broke out on Thursday (AEDT) and in less than a day charred nearly 41 square kilometres of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area 64km from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.

Fire crews sits at Sepulveda Boulevard as fire burns along Interstate 405 in Los Angeles.Credit: AP

But there was no growth overnight and crews were jumping on flare-ups to keep the flames within containment lines, fire spokesperson Jeremy Ruiz said.

“We had helicopters dropping water until around 3am. That kept it in check,” he said.

The 4000 firefighters battling the blaze have achieved 14 per cent containment, a measure of the percentage of a fire’s perimeter brought under control, Cal Fire added.

Nearly 54,000 residents in the Castaic area were still under evacuation warnings (a step lower than evacuation orders), the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. There were no reports of homes or other structures burned.

Meanwhile, two new fires have been reported in the San Diego area. Evacuations were ordered after the Gilman Fire erupted in brush near densely populated neighbourhoods north of downtown in La Jolla, not far from the UC San Diego School of Medicine campus. South-east of downtown, the Border Fire was quickly spreading through a mountainous area of the Otay Mountain Wilderness.

And in Ventura County, a new fire briefly prompted the evacuation of California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo. Water-dropping helicopters made quick progress against the Laguna Fire that erupted in hills above the campus, where about 7000 students are enrolled. The evacuation order was later downgraded to a warning.

Though the region is under a red flag warning, winds were not as strong as they had been when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant.

Firefighter Joshua Cari sprays water while battling the Lilac Fire near the Bonsall community of San Diego County on Tuesday.Credit: AP

Meanwhile evacuation orders were lifted in the Bonsall area of San Diego County for the Lilac Fire, which burnt through dry brush after threatening some structures, Cal Fire said. Nearby crews fully contained the Pala Fire, another small blaze.

In the Los Angeles area, parts of Interstate 5 near the Hughes Fire, which had been closed, reopened.

Kayla Amara drove to Castaic’s Stonegate neighbourhood on Wednesday to collect items from the home of a friend who had rushed to pick up her daughter at preschool. As Amara was packing the car, she learned the fire had exploded in size and decided to hose down the property.

The tower at Six Flags Magic Mountain with the Hughes Fire burning in Castaic, California.Credit: AP

Amara, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she’s been on edge for weeks as major blazes devastated Southern California.

“It’s been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one is close to home it’s just super stressful,” she said.

Closer to Los Angeles, residents in the Sherman Oaks area received an evacuation warning after a brush fire broke out on the Sepulveda Pass near Interstate 405. Forward progress was stopped within hours and the warning was lifted.

The low humidity, bone-dry vegetation and strong winds came as firefighters continued battling the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires. Officials remained concerned that those fires could break their containment lines as firefighters continue watching for hot spots. Containment of the Palisades Fire reached 72 per cent, and the Eaton Fire was at 95 per cent.

Those two fires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since igniting on January 7.

Ahead of the weekend, Los Angeles officials were shoring up hillsides and installing barriers to prepare for potential rain that could cause debris flows, even as some residents were allowed to return to the charred Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas. Rain was possible for the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The California fires have overall caused at least $US28 billion ($44.5 billion) in insured damage and probably a little more in uninsured damage, according to Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modelling firm known for accurate post-catastrophe damage assessments.

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