Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday, January 23, for tens of thousands as firefighters with air support slowed the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, but new blazes erupted in San Diego County, briefly triggering more evacuations. Southern California is under a red flag warning for critical fire risk through Friday. The area has been facing constant challenges in controlling the fires, as dangerous winds gained strength again Thursday.
The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day had charred nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week. Crews made significant progress by late afternoon on the Hughes Fire with about a quarter of it contained.
Two new blazes were reported Thursday in the San Diego area. Evacuations were ordered but were later lifted after a brush fire erupted in the late afternoon in the wealthy enclave of La Jolla near the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. Further south, near the US-Mexico border, another blaze was quickly spreading through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, home to the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly and other unique species.
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 of about 7,000 students. The evacuation order was later downgraded to a warning.
Rain is forecast for the weekend, potentially ending Southern California's dry spell that has lasted months. Winds are also not as strong as they were when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant. That helped the fight against the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area north of Los Angeles, allowing helicopters to drop water, which kept it from growing, fire spokesperson Jeremy Ruiz said.
"We had helicopters dropping water until around 3 a.m. That kept it in check," he said.
Nearly 54,000 residents in the Castaic area were still under evacuation warnings, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Thursday. There were no reports of homes or other structures burned.
'Super stressful'
Kayla Amara drove to Castaic's Stonegate neighborhood 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. 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.
The Palisades Fire was nearly three-quarters contained, and the Eaton Fire was 95% under control Thursday. The two fires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out January 7.
Rain was expected to start Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Officials welcomed the wet weather, but crews also were shoring up hillsides and installing barriers to prevent debris flows as residents returned to the charred Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas
The California fires have overall caused at least $28 billion in insured damage and probably a little more in uninsured damage, according to Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modeling firm known for accurate post-catastrophe damage assessments.
On the heels of that assessment, California Republicans are pushing back against suggestions by President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others that federal disaster aid for victims of wildfires should come with strings attached.
The state Legislature on Thursday approved a more than $2.5 billion fire relief package, in part to help the Los Angeles area recover from the fires. Trump plans to travel to the state to see the damage firsthand Friday, but it wasn't clear whether he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will meet during the visit.
'A sense of hopefulness'
Newsom signed the relief package after the state Legislature approved the laws with bipartisan support earlier in the day. The measures include $2.5 billion for the state's disaster response efforts such as evacuations, sheltering survivors and removing household hazardous waste. Lawmakers also approved $4 million for local governments to streamline approvals for rebuilding homes, and $1 million to support school districts and help them rebuild facilities.
"This is about distilling a sense of hopefulness," Newsom said at a news conference in Pasadena, a city recovering from one of the destructive fires that ignited earlier this month.
The aid won approval a day before Trump is set to visit California for a look at damage from the blazes. He's suggested any federal wildfire relief should come with conditions, though congressional Republicans who represent the state have pushed back on that idea. Former President Joe Biden already approved some disaster aid for the region earlier this month.
Newsom called lawmakers into a special session in November to prepare for legal battles against Trump 's administration. But after major fires broke out around Los Angeles, the governor shifted gears to prioritize fire relief funding. He expanded the focus of the special session to pass the recovery funding under pressure from Republican state lawmakers who said the focus on Trump was misplaced while the state dealt with the disaster.
The governor said he hasn't spoken with Trump about his visit to the state but that he hopes to work with the president despite their political differences.
'We need a plan'
Republican state Sen. Kelly Seyarto criticized Newsom for not issuing the fire relief funding on his own, but ultimately Seyarto supported the bills. He said in the future, Democrats should do a better job of working with Republicans on crafting legislation for fire response and prevention funding. "We need a plan from all of us to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said.
The state Senate also approved $25 million Thursday to defend the state against legal challenges by the federal government, along with another $25 million in part for legal groups to defend immigrants facing possible deportation and other threats. The vote fell largely along party lines. The state Assembly would still have to pass the bills before they can reach Newsom's desk.
The largest of the recent Southern California blazes ignited on Jan. 7, ripping through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles and killing 11 people. The Eaton Fire , which broke out the same day near Altadena, has killed 17 people. The region is also now battling the Hughes Fire , which ignited Wednesday north of Los Angeles, spread more than 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) and led to evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire, a Democrat representing the North Coast, said the fires have been "nothing short of devastating."
"But we promise we have your back, and we're going to get through this," he said before Newsom signed the aid into law. Newsom's administration said the state expects to be reimbursed by the federal government for the disaster relief funding.