Aerial attack helps firefighters maintain the upper hand on a huge fire north of Los Angeles
Overnight water drops helped stop the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and firefighters battled to increase containment as dangerous winds whipped up again.
The Hughes Fire broke out on Wednesday and in less than a day had charred nearly 41 square kilometres of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40km from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.
There was no growth overnight and crews were jumping on flare-ups to keep the flames within containment lines, fire spokesman Jeremy Ruiz said on Thursday (Friday AEDT).
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Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire in Castaic, California. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) AP
"We had helicopters dropping water until around 3am. That kept it in check," he said.
The fire remained at 14 per cent containment. More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings on Wednesday.
Los Angeles County sheriff's officials didn't provide new information on evacuations. There were no reports of homes or other structures burned.
Meanwhile, about 80km to the south-west in Ventura County, a new fire has prompted the evacuation of California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo.
Water-dropping helicopters made quick progress against the small Laguna Fire that erupted in hills above the campus, where about 7000 students are enrolled. The evacuation order was later downgraded to a warning.
A helicopter drops water on the Hughes Fire in Castaic, California. .(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) AP
Though the region was under a red flag warning for critical fire risk through to Friday, winds were not as strong as they had been when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of litres of fire retardant.
Parts of Interstate 5 near the Hughes Fire, which had been closed, reopened on Wednesday evening.
Kayla Amara drove to Castaic's Stonegate neighbourhood to collect items from the home of a friend who had rushed to pick up her daughter at preschool. As Amara was packing the car, she learned the fire had exploded in size and decided to hose down the property.
Amara, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she had been on edge for weeks as major blazes devastated Southern California.
"It's been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one is close to home it's just super stressful," she said.
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Homes were under mandatory evacuation orders in Castaic, California. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) AP
The low humidity, bone-dry vegetation and strong winds came as firefighters continued battling the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.
Officials remained concerned that those fires could break their containment lines as firefighters continue watching for hot spots.
Containment of the Palisades Fire reached 72 per cent, and the Eaton Fire was at 95 per cent.
Those two fires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out January 7.
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