Ferocious flames were devouring hillsides near Castaic Lake, spreading rapidly to cover more than 8,000 acres (3,200 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 — sparking fears that it could spread further.
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.
Jails
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.
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 the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest were also attacking the blaze from the ground.
Cal Fire’s Brent Pascua said conditions had come together to make the situation especially volatile.
“We’re getting the winds, we’re getting the low humidities, and this brush hasn’t seen any moisture in so long,” he said.
“That all combined together is just making this fire spread extremely fast.”
Meteorologist Daniel Swain said the fire was very concerning.
“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 is a chance that this fire will make it into Ventura County, and this is not a good place to have a fire under northeast winds, because there is an almost contiguous, very dense fuel bed all in this region.
“Unfortunately, this fire has the potential to become very large under these conditions.”
Human activity, including the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is changing the 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.