Los Angeles wildfires: New ‘Hughes Fire’ forces evacuation orders for 50,000 people

I'm just praying that our house doesn't burn down,

one man told broadcaster KTLA as he packed his car

This (Hughes) fire had a robust response today, and as you can see behind us, the responders are doing great work to try to contain this fire."

At a press briefing on Wednesday evening, CAL Fire director Joe Tyler said

Certainly, we are not out of the woods yet,

Tyler added

We’ve seen the devastation caused by people failing to follow those orders in the Palisades and Eaton fires,

Jensen said

I don’t want to see that here in our community as well. If you’ve been issued an evacuation order, please get out,

he said

We have long opposed the expansion of the jail system, especially in dangerous fire zones, and we are gravely concerned for the safety of people incarcerated in those jails,

said Melissa Camacho, senior staff attorney with the ACLU SoCal

Other people are hosing down their houses, too. I hope there's a house here to return to,

Amara said as police cars raced through the streets and flames engulfed trees on a hillside in the distance

Rains are in the forecast and the threat of mud and debris flow in our fire-impacted communities is real,

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a Wednesday morning news conference

Winds will be elevated enough to cause explosive fire behavior,

meteorologist Ariel Cohen said

It's been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one is close to home it's just super stressful,

she said

We're getting the winds, we're getting the low humidities, and this brush hasn't seen any moisture in so long,

he said

There are helicopters. That's the good news. The bad news is it is going to get windy enough later that they may not be able to fly in the moments when it gets closest to communities,

he said

There are critical fire conditions ongoing. Winds out of the northeast are 25-40 miles per hour. Winds tonight could gust up to 50-60 miles per hour."

NWS Meteorologist Ariel Cohen told Newsweek

Firefighters from Angeles National Forest, as well as surged CAL FIRE and local, state, federal, and tribal partners, are responding to a brush fire located off Lake Hughes Rd North of Castaic Reservoir Rd, Castaic."

Cal Fire, in a status update on Wednesday

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We have over 200 firefighters assigned to [the Lilac fire] from various different agencies. Firefighters are making good progress, and we are cautiously optimistic."

Robert Johnson, a fire captain with Cal Fire, previously told Newsweek

Dangerous fire weather conditions will persist through Friday as fuels remain extremely dry and ready to burn. Any fire that starts can grow fast and out of control, even if the winds are not strong."

The NWS Los Angeles office said in a red flag warning

FAST MOVING WILDFIRE. AN EVACUATION ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR West of I-5 . LEAVE NOW. Follow instructions from emergency personnel."

NWS Los Angeles said in a fire warning issued shortly after the Hughes fire ignited

But even if the rain doesn’t materialize this time, it could be a good practice run for those communities because this will be a threat that they’ll have to deal with for months or years,

Kittell said Tuesday

We're going to see another round of critical fire conditions across Southern California,

Todd Hall, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Wednesday morning

Even a brief exposure can potentially cause skin irritation and lead to more serious problems,

Ferrer said Wednesday, asking people to wear protective gear while cleaning up