CASTAIC, United States: A new wildfire erupted north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, exploding in size and sparking orders for tens of thousands of people to evacuate in a region already staggering from the effects of huge blazes.
Ferocious flames were devouring hillsides near Castaic Lake, spreading rapidly to cover more than 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) in just a few hours.
The fire was being fanned by strong, dry Santa Ana winds that were racing through the area, pushing a vast pall of smoke and dangerous embers ahead of the flames.
Evacuations were ordered for 31,000 people around the lake, which sits around 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, and close to the city of Santa Clarita.
“I’m just praying that our house doesn’t burn down,” one man told broadcaster KTLA as he packed his car.
The fire came with the greater Los Angeles area still suffering after two enormous fires that killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of structures.
Robert Jensen, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, urged everyone in the impacted area of the new blaze — dubbed the Hughes Fire — to leave immediately.
“We’ve seen the devastation caused by people failing to follow those orders in the Palisades and Eaton fires,” he 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.”
Television footage showed police driving around neighborhoods urging people to leave.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic was under an evacuation order, and around 500 inmates were being moved to a neighboring facility.
He told broadcaster KCAL9 that around 4,600 inmates being held at other jails in the area were sheltering in place, but buses were on hand in case conditions changed and they needed to be moved.
Melissa Camacho, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, noted the rights group’s opposition to “the expansion of the jail system especially in dangerous fire zones,” adding that “we are gravely concerned for the safety of people incarcerated in those jails.”
California Highway Patrol said the fire was impacting traffic on the I5 freeway, with a section of the road — which runs the length of the US West Coast — shuttered.
Helicopters and planes were on the scene dropping water and retardant on the blaze.
That fleet included two Super Scoopers, enormous amphibious planes that can carry hundreds of gallons (liters) of water.
Crews from Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest were also attacking the blaze from the ground.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been the target of criticism by President Donald Trump over his handling of the Los Angeles fires, said he had ordered officials into action.
“State resources have been deployed to the Hughes Fire in the Angeles National Forest to assist in the federal response,” he said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide the federal government with whatever it needs to extinguish this fire.”
It was not immediately clear what sparked the fire, but it occurred during red flag fire conditions — when meteorologists say strong winds and low humidity create conditions ripe for rapid fire spread.
Human activity, including the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is changing Earth’s climate, increasing average global temperatures and altering weather patterns.
Even though January is the middle of the region’s rainy season, Southern California has not seen any significant precipitation in around eight months, leaving the countryside tinder dry.
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New explosive wildfire erupts near Los Angeles
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New explosive wildfire erupts near Los Angeles
- Meteorologists say strong winds and low humidity create conditions ripe for rapid fire spread
Guatemalans enter state of siege over surge in gang violence
GUATEMALA CITY: Streets were half-empty Monday in the capital city of Guatemala, where outrage and fear lingered during the first day of the 30-day state of emergency decreed by the government in response to the murder of nine police officers and riots in several prisons.
On Sunday, suspected members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang carried out a wave of attacks on the police after security forces put down a prison mutiny.
Eight officers were killed on Sunday and a ninth died of his injuries on Monday.
President Bernardo Arevalo declared a 30-day emergency on Sunday over the violence, which caused deep shock among Guatemalans.
On Monday, he presided over a memorial ceremony for the slain police officers at the interior ministry.
The streets of the capital Guatemala City were semi-deserted and private schools, courts and universities remained shuttered.
Sitting on a bench in the historic center of Guatemala City, an octogenarian told AFP that he believed the only way to stamp out criminal gangs was by “burning them.”
“A criminal caught, a criminal killed, because there’s no other way...It’s like a tree; if you don’t pull out the roots, it will sprout again,” the man, who gave only his last name, Espana, said.
He called for Guatemala’s government to emulate the iron-fisted policies of President Nayib Bukele of neighboring El Salvador.
Bukele has imprisoned tens of thousands of men without charge, as part of a war on gangs which has led to a sharp drop in El Salvador’s murder rate but caused an outcry over human rights abuses.
Alejandra Donis, a 30-year-old shopkeeper, also held Bukele up as an example of leadership.
“There was a point in El Salvador where it was scary to just go out, right? And now it’s a place that’s quite touristy; you can go there, and it feels peaceful,” she said.
- ‘The Wolf’ -
The unrest in Guatemala began when inmates at three prisons took 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage on Saturday to demand gang leaders be transferred from a maximum-security prison to more lenient facilities.
On Sunday, the police and army stormed all three penitentiaries and restored control.
After the first prison raid, the interior ministry published a video on X showing officers handcuffing and leading away Barrio 18’s alleged leader in Guatemala, whom authorities identified as Aldo Dupie, alias “El Lobo” (The Wolf).
In response to the crackdown, gang members attacked police stations and patrols.
The coffins of the slain police officers were draped in Guatemalan blue-and-white flags at the interior ministry and flanked by colleagues in uniform, standing to attention.
Arevalo, dressed in a black suit, greeted the grieving relatives, hugging some.
- FBI help sought -
Barrio 18 and the rival gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) are blamed for much of the drug trafficking and criminal violence that plague Central America.
Washington has declared both to be terrorist organizations.
Arevalo said the declared state of emergency would allow the police and army to act against organized crime, but soldiers remained in their barracks on Monday, awaiting orders.
Since mid-2025, gang members have staged several uprisings in Guatemalan prisons to demand their leaders be held in less restrictive conditions.
In October, 20 leaders of Barrio 18 escaped from prison.
Only six have been recaptured, while another was shot and killed.
The government at the time asked for the help of the FBI to track down the remaining escapees.
Across Latin America, gang members continue to run criminal enterprises, from drug trafficking rings to extortion rackets, from behind bars — often with the collusion of corrupt prison officials.
On Sunday, suspected members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang carried out a wave of attacks on the police after security forces put down a prison mutiny.
Eight officers were killed on Sunday and a ninth died of his injuries on Monday.
President Bernardo Arevalo declared a 30-day emergency on Sunday over the violence, which caused deep shock among Guatemalans.
On Monday, he presided over a memorial ceremony for the slain police officers at the interior ministry.
The streets of the capital Guatemala City were semi-deserted and private schools, courts and universities remained shuttered.
Sitting on a bench in the historic center of Guatemala City, an octogenarian told AFP that he believed the only way to stamp out criminal gangs was by “burning them.”
“A criminal caught, a criminal killed, because there’s no other way...It’s like a tree; if you don’t pull out the roots, it will sprout again,” the man, who gave only his last name, Espana, said.
He called for Guatemala’s government to emulate the iron-fisted policies of President Nayib Bukele of neighboring El Salvador.
Bukele has imprisoned tens of thousands of men without charge, as part of a war on gangs which has led to a sharp drop in El Salvador’s murder rate but caused an outcry over human rights abuses.
Alejandra Donis, a 30-year-old shopkeeper, also held Bukele up as an example of leadership.
“There was a point in El Salvador where it was scary to just go out, right? And now it’s a place that’s quite touristy; you can go there, and it feels peaceful,” she said.
- ‘The Wolf’ -
The unrest in Guatemala began when inmates at three prisons took 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage on Saturday to demand gang leaders be transferred from a maximum-security prison to more lenient facilities.
On Sunday, the police and army stormed all three penitentiaries and restored control.
After the first prison raid, the interior ministry published a video on X showing officers handcuffing and leading away Barrio 18’s alleged leader in Guatemala, whom authorities identified as Aldo Dupie, alias “El Lobo” (The Wolf).
In response to the crackdown, gang members attacked police stations and patrols.
The coffins of the slain police officers were draped in Guatemalan blue-and-white flags at the interior ministry and flanked by colleagues in uniform, standing to attention.
Arevalo, dressed in a black suit, greeted the grieving relatives, hugging some.
- FBI help sought -
Barrio 18 and the rival gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) are blamed for much of the drug trafficking and criminal violence that plague Central America.
Washington has declared both to be terrorist organizations.
Arevalo said the declared state of emergency would allow the police and army to act against organized crime, but soldiers remained in their barracks on Monday, awaiting orders.
Since mid-2025, gang members have staged several uprisings in Guatemalan prisons to demand their leaders be held in less restrictive conditions.
In October, 20 leaders of Barrio 18 escaped from prison.
Only six have been recaptured, while another was shot and killed.
The government at the time asked for the help of the FBI to track down the remaining escapees.
Across Latin America, gang members continue to run criminal enterprises, from drug trafficking rings to extortion rackets, from behind bars — often with the collusion of corrupt prison officials.
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