Los Angeles County's first significant storm in more than eight months has already forced the closure of the 5 freeway at the Grapevine, unleashed mud on roadways, and triggered the closure of Malibu's public schools Monday due to dangerous road conditions.
About 15 miles away from Chancellor's location in the Grapevine section of the freeway, the Hughes Fire was well underway in what witnesses described as an apocalyptic scene in the Castaic area about 40 miles north of downtown Los Angeles "It's breathtaking,
The Grapevine is open in both directions after being closed for several hours Wednesday due to a large brush fire in Castaic, just south of the Kern County line. Traffic was being turned around at the base of the Grapevine for those trying to head south to Los Angeles.
A Plano woman watches helplessly as wildfires devastate Altadena, her former home. Her friends are displaced or lost their homes and need donations.
A fast-growing brush fire forced evacuation orders in the Los Angeles County community of Castaic on Wednesday, officials said. The blaze, which officials named the Hughes Fire, was first reported shortly after 10:30 a.m. along Lake Hughes Road, near Castaic Lake and the 5 Freeway, according to Cal Fire.
The Hughes Fire that started on Wednesday has burned through over 5,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties on Wednesday.
An enormous new fire north of Los Angeles that forced students to evacuate and prompted inmates to shelter in place is threatening to jump a vital commercial artery just as dusk approaches, making firefighting efforts harder.
LA County Sheriff says about 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders while another 23,000 were under evacuation warnings.
LATEST Jan. 23, 8:45 a.m. The Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County continued to burn ... the major freeway that leads to the Grapevine, connecting the Los Angeles Basin ...
There are no evacuation orders in place now for the Eaton and Sepulveda Fires in LA County or the Clay Fire in Riverside County.
Fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, a series of ferocious wildfires erupted the second week of January and roared across the Los Angeles area.
The California Highway Patrol closed Interstate 5 through the Grapevine due to fire Wednesday afternoon. I-5 is closed between Grapevine Road and Highway 126, the CHP reported. © 2025 The Bakersfield Californian (Bakersfield,