New Wildfire Broke out in Southern California

A new wildfire erupted north of Los Angeles and has spread to over 9,400 acres (38 sq. km) due to strong winds and dry brush. This has prompted rapid evacuation orders for approximately 31,000 people. Within hours, the fire grew to nearly two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, one of the two massive blazes that have impacted Los Angeles. Officials warned people in the Castaic Lake area of an “immediate threat to life” as Southern California remained under a red-flag warning for extreme fire risk. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reported that 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 23,000 under evacuation warnings.

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The Angeles National Forest has been shut to visitors; it covers an area of 700,000 acres or 2,800 square kilometres. The fire chief Anthony Marrone confirmed that more than 4,000 firefighters were battling the wildfire. Cal Fire had also brought in 1,100 additional firefighters across Southern California in expectation of the rapid increase in fires.