Southern California is still in the grip of a wildfire crisis that's being fueled by dry conditions and high Santa Ana winds.
On Wednesday, at around 11 a.m., a fast-moving brush fire broke out near Castaic in Los Angeles County. Twenty-four hours later, the Hughes Fire had burned 10,176 acres with 14% containment. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.
The blaze forced the sudden evacuation of several schools, including North Lake Hills Elementary, Castaic Middle School, and Castaic Elementary School — which are part of the Castaic Union School District — as well as Castaic High School in the William S. Hart Union High School District.
On Wednesday night, another brush fire broke out along the Sepulveda Pass near the Getty Center. Fire crews launched an aggressive attack and were able to get the incident under control. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, the fire was 60% contained and had burned 45 acres.
The Cal State Channel Islands campus was then forced to evacuate Thursday morning when the Laguna Fire erupted in the Ventura County city of Camarillo. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, 15 acres had burned with 0% containment.
Southern California is expected to get rain this weekend, which could finally temper the flames that have continually erupted across the region. At the same time, officials are worried that burn scarred areas like the Pacific Palisades and Pasadena could see major mudslides.
"This fire burned beyond just the roots that were up on the vegetation on these foothills, so there's nothing holding the soil up on these mountainsides," Pasadena spokesperson Lisa Derderian said of the recent Eaton Fire. "It's going to come down, whether it be this rain storm on the weekend that's anticipated or in the very near future."
NBC reports that thousands of sandbags have been put up around impacted areas. They’re also being placed at strategic locations like Upper Hastings Ranch and the west side community near the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.