Jan. 23 (UPI) — Forward progress of the Sepulveda Fire that erupted quickly overnight off the 405 freeway near Getty Center in Los Angeles was contained at 45 acres early Thursday morning.
All evacuation orders for the Sepulveda Fire were lifted as of 2:30 a.m. PST while Sepulveda Boulevard was still closed Thursday morning through the Sepulveda Pass as well as some on and off-ramps for the 405 Freeway.
“The fire was primarily topography-driven but it had the Santa Ana winds pushing it up that hill. We were very, very fortunate to have the aircraft from the Palisades Fire available to us as well as additional fire resources that we had pre-deployed respond quickly and put this fire into an area that confined it to 45 acres,” L.A. Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore said.
The northern Los Angeles County Hughes Fire had burned 10,176 acres and was 14% contained as of Thursday morning.
More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders and warnings in Castaic as part of Ventura County was also affected.
The Hughes Fire began Wednesday morning at Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake.
Los Angeles-area fires have burned more than 15,000 buildings and 63 square miles. At least 28 people have been killed. Three major fires — the Hughes Fire, Palisades and Eaton — were active Thursday in the Los Angeles area.
According to CalFire the Palisades Fire was 72% contained Thursday and burned 23,448 acres with approximately 6,000 structures damaged or destroyed.
The Eaton Fire was 95% contained at 14,021 acres burned.
Critical fire conditions and Santa Ana winds red flag warnings were in effect for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Rain is forecast for the area this weekend, prompting concerns about mudslides and flooding on burned ground that can’t absorb the water.
Free sandbags for area residents are being made available at fire stations and recreation centers.
A Red Cross evacuation shelter in Castaic said if authorities move to enter a shelter looking for undocumented residents the Red Cross won’t allow permission unless they have a subpoena or court order.
“Red Cross workers will not question individuals about their citizenship status, nor will they request birth certificates, immigration papers, passports, social security cards or similar documents that could be interpreted as being used to identify the nationality or immigration status of persons seeking Red Cross assistance,” a Red Cross bulletin said.
In addition to the L.A. fires, several smaller wildfires also broke out in San Diego county this week.
