The wildfire, named the Hughes fire, has spread across 9,300 acres as of 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday local time. The brush fire began off Castaic Lake in an area north of Santa Clarita.
The fire first broke out around 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, rapidly spreading from 500 acres within its first hour to 3,400 acres less than 2 hours after. The rapid spread was attributed to fast gusts of wind, which also exacerbated the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection chief praised the work of first responders but said they still have a long way to go.
“The first responders are doing great work to contain this fire. Certainly, we are not out of the woods yet,” Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said state resources were deployed to the Hughes Fire in the Angeles National Forest to “assist in the federal response,” promising to “provide the federal government with whatever it needs to extinguish this fire.”
The fire is 15 miles northwest of the Santa Clarita Valley, which is home to popular theme park Six Flags Magic Mountain.
The fire has caused mandatory evacuation warnings for 31,000, and 23,000 more are under warnings.
About 4,500 inmates from Pitchess Detention Center were evacuated during the fire.
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Authorities said the situation remains “chaotic,” but first responders are trying to get people who need to leave out safely.
“We’re just asking people to, I know it’s hard to say, but stay calm and just listen to first responders,” California Highway Patrol Officer Isabel Diaz said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a very active and chaotic scene at the moment, and we’re just all trying our best to get everyone out safely.”