By David Swanson and Daniel Trotta CASTAIC, California (Reuters) -A new wildfire that broke out north of Los Angeles on Wednesday rapidly spread to more than 9,400 acres (38 square km), fueled by strong winds and dry brush,

The Hughes Fire has now burned 8,096 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties since igniting late Wednesday morning near Castaic Lake, according to Cal Fire. More than 24,00 people have been ordered to evacuate due to the Hughes Fire. Another 30,000 people are in evacuation warning zones.

CASTAIC, Calif. (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.

Firefighters in Southern California conducted another fierce wildfire fight on Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Crews raced to contain the massive Hughes Fire in Los Angeles County while another blaze broke out near a busy freeway,

The Sepulveda fire was the latest blaze in a nerve-racking week as Southern California headed into a fourth consecutive day of red flag fire weather warnings. The alerts caution that conditions are ripe for fires to ignite and spread rapidly.

Southern California is battling the Hughes Fire, which broke out around 11 a.m. near Lake Hughes Road, close to the 5 Freeway and Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County.

A fast-moving California fire has forced authorities to evacuate part of a 5,000-person jail in Los Angeles County. The Hughes Fire, which broke out Wednesday afternoon in Castaic, is 0 percent contained and has already burned nearly 9,300 acres, according to Cal Fire.

A fire broke out Wednesday night along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass near the Getty Center, burning about 20 acres and spurring an evacuation warning.

Eaton Fire initially started 6:18 p.m. Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County. Since its discovery 15 days ago, it has burned 14,021 acres. A fire crew of 2,104 has been working on site and, as of Wednesday afternoon, they managed to contain 91% of the fire. However, investigations into the cause are ongoing.

Firefighters are responding to a brush fire in the Castaic area of Los Angeles County Wednesday morning, according to the Angeles National Forest.

A brush fire erupted amid powerful winds Wednesday afternoon in the Castaic area in the northern region of Los Angeles County, spreading quickly to 10,176 acres near the freeway, officials said.

In 2018, Montecito, a town 80 miles (130 kilometers) up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes burned bare by a huge wildfire. Twenty-three people died, and hundreds of homes were damaged.