Fast-moving new fire ‘that could go nuclear’ breaks out in Los Angeles sparking evacuations as 20,000 forced to flee
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ALMOST 20,000 residents were forced to evacuate after a ferocious new LA blaze exploded ten fold in two hours - with an expert warning it could "go nuclear". The Hughes Fire erupted from 500 to more than 5,000 acres after it was sparked just before 11 am on Wednesday near Castaic Lake, California.
![[Emergency vehicles on a road next to a large wildfire.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/two-hours-fire-fanned-strong-965871364.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Leaping flames tore across dry hillsides and enormous plumes of choking smoke billowed into the air, prompting a warning of "immediate threat to life". Around 19,000 people had been ordered to evacuate by 2:30pm, officials told KTLA, with thousands more affected by evacuation warnings.
![[Smoke and flames from a wildfire.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/plumes-smoke-rise-hughes-fire-965847540.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The blaze is devastating an area already reeling from wildfires, with much of Southern California remaining under a red flag warning for extreme risk of outbreaks. This furnace is around 40 miles from the catastrophic Eaton and Palisades fires that continue to burn for a third week.
![[Firefighters battling a wildfire.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/two-hours-fire-fanned-strong-965877049.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Crews battled the blaze from the ground and the skies, desperate to control the flames ripping through ground the size of 23 football pitches every minute. Jacob Weigler, a wildfire expert, said: "That one's gonna go nuclear. It's big," about the Hughes blaze.
![[People evacuating their homes during a fire.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/people-evacuate-homes-hughes-fire-965877495.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"You know what the fuels are capable of doing in that area right now, and what the wind does is going to be a big deal for this," he added. Weigler said he had been in contact with colleagues near the scene and that an initial information from fire services suggested a potentially massive disaster.
![[Person spraying water on a roof during a wildfire.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/kayla-amara-sprays-home-hughes-965878687.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
