New fast-moving Hughes Fire breaks out north of Los Angeles triggering more evacuation orders

Over 50,000 under evacuation orders or warnings as a new fast-moving wildfire swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles.

Transcript

00:00Evacuations have been ordered for remote communities near mountains north of Los Angeles after

00:06a new wildfire erupted.

00:08The Hughes Fire, which authorities say is wind-driven, has quickly grown, burning through

00:13more than 20 square kilometers of trees and brush in its first few hours.

00:18The fire also sent up massive plumes of dark smoke near the Lake Castaic area.

00:23Castaic is located just over 60 kilometers away from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood,

00:28which suffered the worst fire damage in Los Angeles.

00:32Some 14,000 structures were burnt to a crisp in the Palisades fire, which broke out on

00:37the 7th of January and continues to burn for its third week.

00:41The Hughes Fire comes as parched Southern California prepares for possible rain this

00:46weekend.

00:48Experts say even a small amount of rain could create new challenges, like toxic runoff from

00:52burnt debris.

00:54Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has informed authorities to prepare the city for rain to

00:59not add to the ongoing crisis and mitigate environmental impacts.

01:03We are beginning in a proactive way in anticipation of rain to make sure that if rain does come

01:11that it doesn't add further to the crisis that we've been in.

01:15There's a lot of hazardous materials, toxics that could go into the ocean.

01:21We want to prevent that.

01:23In an executive order, Bass instructed authorities to remove vegetation, shore up hillsides,

01:28install barriers, and reinforce roads.

01:31The possible weekend rain brings the risk of floods, landslides, and mud and toxic debris

01:36flows.