CASTAIC, Calif, Jan 23, (AP):  Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings. The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day had charred nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.

Though the region was under a red flag warning for critical fire risk, winds were not as fast as they had been when those fires broke out, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of fire retardant on the latest blaze. By Wednesday night, about 14% of the Hughes Fire had been contained. "The situation that we’re in today is very different from the situation we were in 16 days ago,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday evening.

Red flag warnings were extended through 10 am Friday in LA and Ventura counties. Officials remained concerned that the Palisades and Eaton fires could break their containment lines as firefighters continue watching for hot spots. An evacuation warning was issued for Sherman Oaks after a brush fire broke out on the Sepulveda Pass near the I-405 Freeway. The blaze was first reported just after 11 pm Wednesday, but the Los Angeles Fire Department announced early Thursday that forward progress had been stopped at about 40 acres (16 hectares) and the evacuation warning was lifted. No structures were damaged and no injuries were reported, fire officials said, but firefighters remained at the scene.

More than 31,000 people have been ordered to evacuate from the Hughes Fire, and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said. There were no reports of homes or other structures burned. Parts of Interstate 5 near the Hughes Fire that had been closed reopened Wednesday evening. A 30-mile (48-kilometer) stretch of the major north-south artery had been closed for emergency vehicles, to move equipment and to prevent accidents due to smoke billowing across it.

Crews on the ground and in water-dropping aircraft tried to prevent the wind-driven fire from moving across the interstate and toward Castaic. Marrone said that because winds were not as strong as they were two weeks ago, aircraft crews were able to drop fire retardant on the south side of the fire, where the flames were moving, he said. More than 4,000 firefighters were assigned to the fire, he said.