Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone reported in a press briefing held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22 that the Hughes Fire has consumed more than 9,400 acres.

Marrone said the fire, which was first reported at 10:53 a.m. at Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake, is 0% contained and there are no reports of structures being damaged or destroyed.

More than 4,000 firefighting personnel are assigned to the incident, he said.

“We had a robust air and ground response,” Marrone said. “This is a difficult fire to fight, but we are getting the upper hand.”

The National Weather Service as extended the Red Flag Warning in the Santa Clarita Valley, as well as most of Los Angeles County and Ventura County until 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24. The NWS has predicted a change in the weather with a chance of rain this weekend.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sheriff Robert Luna reported that 31,000 people in the SCV are under mandatory fire evacuation orders with another 23,000 people under evacuation warnings.

“Our deputies have been going neighborhood to neighborhood making sure we are protecting the neighborhoods and making sure people are safe. We also have looter suppression in place to make sure your homes are safe,” Luna said.

Luna said one facility at Pitchess Detention Center was evacuated to other locations on the Pitchess campus.

The I-5 freeway was closed at State route 126 during the afternoon, but reportedly was reopened after 6 p.m.

An evacuation center has opened at Hart High School. The address is 24825 Newhall Ave., Santa Clarita, CA 91321.

Small and large animals are being sheltered at several animal cater centers.

Small animals – Palmdale and Lancaster Animal Care Centers

Large animal – Lancaster Animal Care Center

Due to high traffic from the fire, avoid these intersections:

Valencia Boulevard / McBean Parkway

Magic Mountain Parkway / McBean Parkway

Copper Hill Drive / McBean Pkwy

Newhall Ranch Road / McBean Pkwy

To learn if you are in an evacuation area, visit LA County’s Emergency site and sign up for alerts.

For the latest updates visit https://santaclaritaemergency.com.