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The Hughes Fire, which began Wednesday and grew within hours to engulf more than 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares), continues to rage north of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The Sepulveda Fire started early Thursday near the Getty Center art museum and the city's affluent Bel Air neighborhood and has burned 45 acres. That blaze has now been 60% contained, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
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In Ventura County east of Oxnard, the Laguna Fire erupted Thursday morning, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. While the blaze encompassed only two acres as of 9 a.m. local time, it had a "rapid rate of spread," the department said in a X post. California State University Channel Islands said it had been ordered to evacuate the campus.
Firefighters have contained about 14% of the Hughes Fire's perimeter, using fire breaks or other barriers to prevent flames from spreading, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Authorities told about 50,000 people to evacuate, including 476 inmates at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.
Dry winds of up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour will batter Los Angeles and Ventura counties Thursday, fanning the flames, the US
"They do need the rain," said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. "For a lot of these areas, it is going to be the first rain they have had for a while."
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The new fires come weeks after other blazes killed 28 people, displaced thousands and destroyed nearly 15,000 buildings — most of them homes. The Palisades and Eaton fires, which caused the bulk of the destruction, are still burning but are now more controlled.
Shares of California utilities Edison International and PG&E, which in the past have been found liable for sparking wildfires, slid Wednesday as the Hughes Fire spread. Shares of both companies were down slightly on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Edison said the utility is investigating. It cut power to about 2,300 homes and businesses in LA and Ventura counties to prevent live wires from blowing over in the high winds and sparking any new fires.
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More than 65,000 homes and businesses were without power across California at 8:56 a.m. local time, according to PowerOutage.us.
The Hughes Fire briefly prompted authorities to close a section of Interstate 5, but the route reopened Wednesday evening. About 45 miles away, a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway — a major north-south artery into and out of LA — remains shut as authorities continue work to contain and clean up the Palisades Fire.
