The Hughes Fire sent thick grey smoke billowing over homes in Santa Clarita, California. At least 31,000 residents were ordered to evacuate due to the rapid spread of the blaze on Wednesday afternoon,

Firefighters worked into the night to contain a blaze that sparked and quickly spread 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 has spread over 8,096 acres after starting just before lunchtime in Los Angeles County's Castaic Lake area on Wednesday.

The Hughes fire broke out a little before 11 a.m., roughly five miles north of the Pitchess Detention Center. The Sheriff's Department has struggled with a shortage of buses to transport inmates.

At the time of publication, the Laguna fire had burned approximately 50 acres and was still listed at 0 percent containment, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation warnings, which indicate a "potential threat to life and/or property," were in effect for "Laguna Zone 1" and "Laguna Zone 2."

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), wildfires are currently burning in Santa Clarita, Oxnard, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego. Most of those ...

The Hughes Fire burned some 10,176 acres but that figure held steady throughout the day as 4,000 firefighters dropped water and retardant from the air and used hand tools and hoses on the ground.

Local leaders are upset about the potential dangers posed to residents by the EPA's plan to open a site to process Eaton fire debris near Lario Park.

A rapidly growing wildfire broke out some 80 km north of Los Angeles on Wednesday (Jan 22), burning 20 sq km, while two major fires burning in the metropolitan area f

Over 1,100 firefighters were “strategically pre-positioned” across Southern California to address "ongoing critical fire weather," Cal Fire said.

More wildfires started in Southern California on Tuesday night and Wednesday, as gusty Santa Ana winds continue to plague the state this week.