New fire broke out near Los Angeles, residents forced to evacuate

The so-called Hughes fire is burning around Castaic Lake, near the city of Castaic, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. The fire broke out shortly before 11 a.m. (8 p.m. Belgian time) on Wednesday. Strong winds allowed the flames to spread over an area of ​​about 12 square miles in less than two hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

An evacuation order is in effect in and around Castaic Lake. It is not known exactly how many local residents will have to evacuate, but Castaic has about 18,000 residents. Lawyers are also calling for the evacuation of a nearby prison complex, which holds about 5,000 inmates, but that has not happened yet.

According to the National Weather Service, winds in the region are currently blowing at about 20 miles per hour, causing the flames to spread toward the southwest. News channel CNN reports that at the current rate, an area the size of a football field catches fire every 2 to 3 seconds. More control over previous fires

While this new fire broke out, there is better news to report about the other fires that ravaged Los Angeles this month. The so-called Eaton Fire, which has burned an area of ​​57 square kilometers east of Los Angeles, is 91 percent contained, the California Fire Department reports. The Palisades Fire on the west side of Los Angeles, covering an area of ​​no less than 95 square kilometers, is now 68 percent contained.

Since the two fires broke out on January 7, 28 people have died and nearly 16,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed. According to Los Angeles County officials, 180,000 people had to evacuate at the worst moment. AccuWeather estimates the economic damage from the natural disaster at more than $250 billion.