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Southern California wildfires: Apparatus sits on Sepulveda Blvd. as fire burns along Interstate 405, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOS ANGELES – Santa Ana winds continued to gust across Southern California Thursday, driving new fires that have forced evacuations in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

Firefighters battling a fire in the Sepulveda Basin that has scorched 45 acres in Brentwood have the blaze 60 percent  contained Thursday.

The  Sepulveda Fire was reported at 11 p.m. Wednesday near the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway along the Sepulveda Pass. Around 250 LAFD firefighters quickly responded to the area as the blaze grew from 10 to 20 acres, according to Cal Fire.

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Using both aerial and ground attacks, firefighters sought to gain control of the flames in the hillside area against light winds, Stewart said.

The fire prompted an evacuation warning for the residents south of the 1500 block of Casiano Road, north of Moraga Drive, east of Sepulveda Boulevard and west of Chalon Road, Stewart said. Those evacuations warnings were lifted at 2 a.m.

The Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake burned more than 10,000 acres Wednesday night into Thursday morning, but it was 24 percent contained as of Thursday afternoon.

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Red flag warnings of high fire danger will be in place until Friday for the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, the San Gabriel Mountains, the 5 and 14 Freeway corridors, the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, the Malibu Coast, Calabasas and Agoura Hills.

San Diego County fires

In San Diego County, a brush fire erupted near UC San Diego amid gusty Santa Ana conditions Thursday, prompting evacuations in the busy area as crews worked to subdue the flames.

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The blaze began spreading near the intersection of Gilman Drive and Via Alicante in La Jolla shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

While firefighters sought to contain the roughly one-acre burn area, police cleared the public out of surrounding areas, including homes along Bremerton Place, Sugarman Drive and Via Mallorca.

Another fast-moving wildfire erupted several miles north of the US-Mexico border in the San Diego area, blackening hundreds of open acres as ground and airborne crews worked to quell the flames amid arid and blustery Santa Ana conditions.

The blaze broke out near Otay Mountain Truck Trail, about a half-mile west of Doghouse Junction in Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, according to Cal Fire.

The wildfire moved over steep, rugged terrain as firefighters battled it on the ground and aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters, said Robert Johnson, a fire captain with the state agency.

Riverside County fires

In Riverside County, a brush fire that broke out north of Moreno Valley scorched roughly five acres before it was stopped.

The “Reche Fire” was reported at 4:15 p.m. Thursday on a hillside in the area of Reche Canyon Road and High Country Drive, about two miles north of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency announced that multiple engine and hand crews were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a moderate rate across open space.

Several Cal Fire air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter were summoned to make runs on the brusher. Its forward rate of spread was stopped at 4:55 p.m., according to reports from the scene.

Crews were expected to continue shoring up containment lines until late Thursday night.

Also in Riverside County, another brush fire that erupted in the foothills on the east end of Hemet consumed nearly 15 acres before Cal Fire aircraft significantly slowed its advance, preventing it from reaching homes in the outlying area.

Eaton and Palisades fires

As of Thursday, the 14,021-acre Eaton Fire was 95 percent contained, and the 23,448-acre Palisades Fire 72 percent, according to Cal Fire.

The fires have thus far claimed 28 lives — 11 in the Palisades Fire area and 17 in the Eaton area, according to the county medical examiner.

Evacuation orders have been lifted for dozens of areas in both the Palisades and Eaton fire areas, though some homes were still without electricity and gas service due to safety shutoffs.

The aviation giant must “reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality,” Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said, adding that the cuts of 17,000 positions globally “will include executives, managers and employees.”

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A cooling trend will begin Friday and turn significantly cooler over the weekend as a cold storm system moves over the region, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

“Rain showers and mountain snow are expected between Saturday late and Monday. Brief heavy downpours with small hail are possible with any thunderstorms,” the NWS said.

Local authorities have been in preparation mode for several days in anticipation of the rain, which is expected to total between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch by the time the system passes.

Higher amounts are possible in some mountain areas, including up to 2 inches possible on south-facing slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, said this week crews are preparing for the potential rain, deploying K-rails, sandbags and other devices “to manage sediment and debris.”

In the Eaton Fire area, crews were using Santa Anita racetrack as a staging area for supplies, and on the west side near the Palisades Fire, Santa Monica Airport was being used as a base of operations.

“Currently, our crews are clearing debris from streets, cleaning and preparing debris basins, deploying sandbags and other systems to keep runoff with ash and other burn debris from entering the storm drain system,” he said.

“Public Works is also working with the state to coordinate the deployment of K-rail in burn areas.”

Pestrella urged burn-area residents who have returned to their homes to plan to stay indoors during the storm event, saying that while officials do not expect the rain to cause damaging flows that would mandate evacuations, sediment and debris will still likely flow into streets. (With CNS report)

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