Lake Hughes Fire Balloons To 1oK Acres; Hundreds Evacuate

LAKE HUGHES, CA — A brush fire in the Lake Hughes area raged out of control Wednesday afternoon, scorching 10,000 acres in less than four hours. The blaze prompted mandatory evacuations for about 500 in the Lake Hughes and Pine Canyon area, according to Angeles National Forest Public Information Officer Seneca Smith.

Driven by hot temperatures and dry brush, the fast moving fire quickly ballooned despite efforts by ground crews and air drops. The Lake Fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m. near North Lake Hughes Road and Pine Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest, according to Marvin Lim of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which was battling the blaze with Angeles National Forest crews.

The fire had a "rapid rate of spread," and the Angeles National Forest and county fire departments called in second-alarm responses.

By 7:15 p.m., the flames had jumped Pine Canyon Road, two miles west of Lake Hughes Road, and shortly after, flames were seen on aerial footage burning what appeared to be homes in the area.
ABC7 reported at 7:20 p.m. that homes had started to burn in the fire.

As of 8:30 p.m., The sheriff's department hds issued additional evacuations for homes east of Old Ridge Route, west of Three Points Road, north of Pine Canyon Road and south of Highway 138, and Ridge Route Road is closed to traffic at Highway 138.

A n evacuation center was set up for displaced residents at Highland High School in Palmdale.

"In this evacuation, unfortunately because of COVID protocols, a shelter is not actually established, people will have to stay in their cars," said Sgt. Ron Schaffer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

People staying in their cars at the center are allowed to have small animals with them.

By 4:30 p.m., the flames had burned 400 acres, and officials said the fire had the potential to burn 1,000 acres, according the Los Angeles County Fire Department. That quickly changed two hours later, when the flames exploded across an estimated 10,000 acres, with no containment.

The fire was entirely on federal land as of 6:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The sheriff's department issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents on Lake Hughes Road, west of Pine Canyon Road and south of Dry Gulch Road. The California Highway Patrol set up road closures throughout the area. San Francisquito Canyon Road was closed at Spunky Canyon Road, Pine Canyon Road at Three Points Road and Lake Hughes Road, Three Points Road at Highway 138, Old Ridge Route at Highway 138 and Lake Hughes Road at Ridge Route Road, the CHP reported shortly after 8:30 p.m.

The blaze sent a thick plume of dark smoke into the air, complicating efforts to fight the fire from the air.

Evacuation Shelter

Highland High School Palmdale,39055 25th St. West Palmdale

Large Animals Shelter

Antelope Valley Fairgrounds Castaic Fairgrounds

Road Closures

Lake Hughes Road is currently closed from Castaic to Pine Canyon.

Road closures continue from 3 Points Rd to Pine Canyon Rd, Ridge Route to Lake Hughes Rd, and San Francisquito Canyon Rd, Stator Ln, to Elizabeth Lake.

BRUSH FIRE 8/12/20 @LACoFireAirOps Firehawk helicopters assisting @Angeles_NF with the #LakeFire off Lake Hughes Road north of Warm Springs. pic.twitter.com/IN9Ce833U

City News Service contributed to this report.