While many of the wildfires that started burning in Southern California earlier this month have been contained, fire enabling weather has picked back up in the area and new fires have started, including the new Hughes fire which has already burned 10,000 acres.
The Santa Ana winds continue to blow through Los Angeles and other nearby counties, challenging firefighting efforts. The National Weather Service still has a red flag warning in place for fire danger in the area.
According to Forbes, the National Weather Service warned that Thursday would be an especially dangerous day for fires in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties. This is due to humidity being less than 15% and winds consistently reaching 25 mph or more.
The Hughes fire
On Wednesday morning, a new fire, the Hughes fire, ignited north of Castaic, off of Lake Hughes Road.
The fire has burned over 10,000 acres and has prompted over 31,000 evacuation orders with 23,000 other under evacuation warning, per The Los Angeles Times.
Firefighting crews were able to quickly get a handle on containing the fire, and as of late Wednesday night it was 14% contained.
Multiple brush fires break out
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According to The New York Times, a new 40-acre brush fire started near the Getty Museum and Bel-Air early Thursday morning. Crews initially issues an evacuation warning in the area, but firefighters were able to stop the progress of the fire and were later able to lift the warning.
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Multiple smaller brush fires broke out in San Diego County on Tuesday and Wednesday. The largest of the blazes was the Lilac fire which reached 85 acres, displaced almost 100 residents and damaged two structures, per USA Today.
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The Lilac fire has been more than 50% contained and firefighters have halted progress on the other fires.
What President Trump said about the LA fires
In an interview Wednesday evening with Fox News host Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump spoke about FEMA and efforts to aid those affected by the LA fires.
During the interview the president threatened to withhold federal aid from California as the state works to recover from the devastating fires, per The Washington Post.
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” Trump said.
Trump repeated old claims that California Gov. Gavin Newson and other Democratic officials have been holding back water from the northern part of the state.
He also criticized FEMA efforts during the interview, saying he wants to have discussions about the agency’s future, per Forbes.
