Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate after a fire broke out in the northern part of the US state of Los Angeles. The fire in the mountainous areas near Lake Castaic has engulfed more than 5,000 acres in a few hours. Strong and dry winds are helping to ignite the fire, which is spreading like flames. About 31,000 people around the lake, located about 56 kilometers north of Los Angeles and near the city of Santa Clarita, have been ordered to evacuate. This incident of fire and spread has occurred two and a half weeks after the first stage of the fire in Los Angeles, in which 28 people died and thousands of homes were destroyed. Robert Jensen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has urged everyone in the area affected by the new fire, called the Hughes Fire, to leave the area immediately. He said that we have failed to follow these orders in the Palisades and Eaton fires. If you have seen the devastation, please get out if you have been ordered to evacuate. Television footage shows police officers in vehicles urging people to leave the area. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that the Pitches Detention Center in Castaic has been evacuated and about 500 inmates are being transferred to a nearby facility. He told the local broadcaster that about 4,600 inmates held in other prisons in the area are sheltering in place, but that buses are available if conditions change.
Melissa Camacho, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said, “We are deeply concerned about the safety of those incarcerated in these prisons,” citing the human rights group’s opposition to expanding the prison system, especially in high-risk fire zones. The California Highway Patrol said the fire has affected traffic on the I-5 Freeway and closed a section of the road that runs along the U.S. West Coast. Helicopters and planes are on the scene, dropping water on the fire. The firefighting fleet included two Super Scoopers, very large amphibious aircraft capable of carrying hundreds of gallons of water. Crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Angeles National Forest also began working to put out the fire. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been criticized by President Donald Trump for his handling of the Los Angeles wildfires, said he had ordered officials to take immediate action. He said the Angeles National Forest was being used to help with the federal response. I have deployed state resources to the Hughes Fire. We will monitor the situation closely and provide the federal government with whatever is needed to extinguish this fire. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, but it broke out during the Red Flag Fire. Meteorologists say the fire is spreading rapidly due to strong winds and low humidity. They say human activities, including the uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels, are changing the Earth’s climate, increasing average global temperatures and changing weather patterns. Although January is the middle of the rainy season in the region, Southern California has not had any significant rainfall in about 8 months, leaving rural areas parched.