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Los Angeles firefighters battle new Hughes blaze

Tens of thousands of residents under evacuation order while city braces for possible mudslides this weekend

Firefighters battle the Hughes fire near Santa Clarita, California, on Wednesday © Ethan Swope/AP

Firefighters battle the Hughes fire near Santa Clarita, California, on Wednesday © Ethan Swope/AP

A new wildfire has spread rapidly in a mountainous area north-west of Los Angeles, prompting evacuation orders for 50,000 residents as the region entered its third week of battling devastating blazes.

The Hughes fire broke out early on Wednesday in parkland just north of the city of Santa Clarita. By 10pm, it had scorched more than 10,000 acres of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

More than 4,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, with aircraft dropping huge amounts of fire retardant that helped contain about 15 per cent of the fire.

The fire was propelled by winds of up to 50mph, according to the National Weather Service, which were not as strong as those that fanned the deadly Palisades fires that began on January 7. “The situation that we’re in today is very different from the situation we were in 16 days ago,” said Anthony Marrone, Los Angeles county fire chief. 

 

Map of Los Angeles showing the fire perimeters of wildifres since the beginning of January.


The wildfires in the coastal Palisades area and Eaton, further to the east, are thought to be the most damaging in California history, killing at least 28 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. A combination of extremely dry weather and strong winds has created extremely hazardous fire conditions.

President Donald Trump has criticised state officials’ response to the disaster, saying in a television interview on Wednesday that he was considering withholding federal aid from the state due to its water policies, which were the subject of one of the executive orders he signed on Monday.

 

Firefighters monitor flames caused by the Hughes Fire along Castaic Lake in Castaic
Firefighters monitor flames caused by the Hughes Fire along Castaic Lake © Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP



Trump has made disputed claims that the Los Angeles fires were exacerbated by what he said was a lack of water flow from northern California due to environmental regulations.

California governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat whom Trump has criticised repeatedly for his handling of the fires, has invited the president to survey the damage. Trump is expected to travel to Los Angeles as soon as this week.

The potential economic losses from the fires have been estimated at between $135bn and $150bn, far higher than the $16.5bn record set by the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which was then the deadliest and most destructive in the state’s history.

Officials in Los Angeles have also begun raising concerns about the risk of mudslides, as weather forecasts suggest rain this weekend.

Mayor Karen Bass issued an emergency order on Tuesday to remove vegetation and clear debris ahead of rainstorms on Saturday, and the city is distributing sandbags to help protect homes and slow flows of mud.

Author: Christopher Grimes in Los Angeles

Source: Financial Times

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