Hughes fire: multiple aircraft deployed as new blaze takes hold in LA County

Multiple firefighting aircraft have been deployed north of Los Angeles in LA County to counteract the spread of a new fire that has taken hold in the area.  

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Hughes fire broke out on January 23, 2025, shortly before 11:00 local time, and around 13 hours later the blaze has grown to 10,176 acres. 

So far around 30,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate while a further 23,000 are on standby to leave the area at a moment’s notice.  

As it stands the Hughes fire is centered on a mountainous area near Castaic Lake and there are so far no reports of damaged structures but there are concerns the blaze could potentially spread to nearby residential areas.  

“The first responders are doing great work to contain this fire. Certainly, we are not out of the woods yet,” said California Fire Chief Joe Tyler. 

GPS—two suspicious individuals were in the area just before the #HughesFire started, growing from a few acres to an explosive monster of over 8,100 acres and moving up to ~35 acres per minute at times.The 5 freeway, a transportation corridor, is sitting square in its path right… pic.twitter.com/a3GI4lY08E— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) January 23, 2025 Multiple firefighting aircraft have been battling the latest fire, and the authorities believe they are making progress in lighter winds with 14% of the blaze already contained. 

According to data provided by flightradar24, aircraft in the area includes two Canadair Cl-415 SuperScoopers, a Boeing CH-47D Chinook, an Avro RJ 85 and a BAe 146. 

Chief Joe Tyler told reporters that around 4,000 personnel were sent to the area about 15 miles northwest of Santa Clarita. 

#HughesFire from my backyard, just before we evacuated. Praying for everyone’s safety. pic.twitter.com/2UUppUIVmH— W. F. Smith Leithart (@wfsleithart) January 22, 2025 According to the BBC, two smaller fires also broke out on January 23, 2024, San Diego and Oceanside but appear to be mostly in control.  

Since the Los Angeles fires first broke out on January 7, 2024, at least 28 people have been killed, and thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed. 

The two largest fires, Palisades (23,448 acres) and Eaton (14,021), are still burning with containment at 75% and 70%, respectively.  

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