A rapidly spreading fire, which has torched more than 10,000 acres and forced 31,000 residents to flee their homes, continues to wreak havoc on Los Angeles.
Four thousand firefighters have been deployed to battle the monster Hughes fire which broke out about 11am on Wednesday, local time, near Castaic Lake.
As of Thursday morning (local time), the fire had grown to 10,176 acres, with only 14 per cent contained.
Meanwhile, a new, smaller blaze, the Laguna fire, has broken out in Ventura County, promoting the brief evacuation of a nearby university.
At least 28 people have died as a result of the wildfires, which first broke out in Los Angeles two weeks ago on January 7.
Read on for the latest updates from the Los Angeles fires.
The Hughes Fire has grown to 10,176 acres. Picture: AP Photo/Ethan Swope
Map showing LA’s wildfires. Picture: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Trump threatens to withhold federal aid
President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal disaster aid unless California changes its water policies.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Mr Trump slammed California’s water management, repeating false claims that California’s fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state were responsible for fire hydrants drying up. He called for more water to be sent down to the southern part of the state.
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,” Mr Trump said.
President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal disaster aid unless California changes its water policies. Picture: Roberto Schmidt/AFP
It comes after the President earlier blasted California Governor Gavin Newscum for refusing “to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water” into parts of California, which are currently burning.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!),” he wrote on Truth Social.
Local officials have denied claims hydrants had dried up because of conservation efforts for the delta smelt, instead blaming demand on the municipal system.
“The claim that Delta smelt protections in the Bay-Delta estuary are limiting the amount of water exported to southern California, which, in turn, would affect the amount of water available for emergency response, has no merit whatsoever,” Ashley Overhouse, a California water policy advisor for Defenders of Wildlife, toldABC News.
Elsewhere during the Fox News interview, Mr Trump called for reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he said, adding there would be “a whole big discussion very shortly”.
Mr Trump will visit areas devastated by the fires wildfires in his first presidential trip of his second term on Friday.
Firefighters spray water as they monitor flames caused by the Hughes Fire along a roadside in Castaic, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Ethan Swope
New blaze breaks out in LA
Firefighters are battling a new blaze which broke in Ventura County, briefly forcing the evacuation of a nearby university.
The Laguna Fire started at about 8.51am on Thursday, local time, in the hills west of the California State University Channel Island campus.
A new blaze broke out in Ventura County on Thursday morning. Picture: X@VCFD_PIO
Firehawk helicopters were deployed in water dropping operations over the fire. Picture: X@VCFD_PIO
About 200 firefighters were deployed to battle the blaze which prompted Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to issue an evacuation for California State University Channel Island.
“VCSO has issued evacuation orders for the Cal State Channel Islands Campus and fire resources are in place evaluating any potential structure threats,” Ventura County Fire Department wrote on X.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has since downgraded its evacuation order to a warning, prompting the university campus to reopen.
The fire burned about 50 acres, fire officials said.
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