Hughes fire in Los Angeles prompts mandatory evacuations after it quickly erupts from 500 to over 8,000 acres

A new fire in Southern California has exploded from 500 acres to more than 8,000 in just a few hours, prompting new evacuation orders for an area already reeling from blazes that have raged and destroyed thousands of homes.

The Hughes Fire grew rapidly near Castaic Lake, after it sparked around 10:53 a.m. PST Wednesday.

Crews on the ground and in the sky attacked the flames, which were spreading over 23 football fields every minute, according to ABC 7. It is 0 percent contained.

“That one’s gonna go nuclear. It’s big,” wildfire expert Jacob Weigler told The New York Post. Weigler said he had been in contact with colleagues near the scene and that an initial equipment request from fire services indicated a potentially massive disaster.

Roughly 19,000 people were being evacuated south and west of the fire, officials told KTLA, with thousands more under evacuation warnings.

Home to more than 18,000 people, Castaic is located near Castaic Lake, a 12,658-acre reservoir that supplies water to the Los Angeles area. The nearby city of Santa Clarita has more than 224,000 residents. It is known for its Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park.

Several schools were forced to close.

“As many of you may know, a vegetation fire is currently burning on the east side of Castaic Lake,” an alert sent by the William S. Hart Union High School District to Castaic High families read, according to The Signal. “We have been reassured by our law enforcement and fire partners that the school is currently not in any danger. Out of an abundance of caution, and as a result of poor air conditions, we will be ceasing all school activities for the day immediately. Students will be dismissed to leave at 11:40 a.m.”

I-5 was affected by thick smoke, and offramps along the artery were shut down. Drivers looking to escape the fire were met with gridlock traffic, Fox 11 said. Images from Oxnard showed yellow-tinged skies and a blood-orange sun.

“The urgency is definitely there. You think you’re ready, but you’re never ready. You’re never really ready to go,” resident David Monroe told ABC 7. “...It hits you fast.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that state resources had been deployed to assist in the federal response.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide the federal government with whatever it needs to extinguish this fire,” he wrote in a post on social media.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but forecasters had warned of more critical fire weather affecting the region through Thursday.

The Hughes Fire was not the first fire start of the day. The seven-acre Bernardo Fire in San Diego County also forced evacuations. It is now 25 percent contained, according to CBS 8.

The new fires come as progress continues to be made to contain the deadly and devastating Palisades and Eaton Fires that tore through parts of Los Angeles last week. The Eaton Fire is now 91 percent contained, and the Palisades is nearly 70 percent contained.

The early January fires resulted in the deaths of at least 28 people, with entireneighborhoods burned to the ground. Recovery and relief efforts in affected areas are still underway.

After months without precipitation, local officials warned weekend rain could cause debris flows in burn scar areas, with hazardous consequences to human health.

“As the fires have settled, new challenges lie ahead,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a Wednesday news conference. “Rains are in the forecast and the threat of mud and debris flow in our fire-impacted communities is real.”

With reporting from The Associated Press