The Hughes fire erupted late Wednesday morning and charred through more than 40 square kilometers of trees and brush near the Lake Castaic area in less than a day. The fire is located about 60 km away from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where the devastating Palisades fire has destroyed more than 14,000 structures and continues to burn for a third week. Crews made significant progress on Thursday in containing the fire. They say the Hughes fire is now about one-third contained. But as they made progress, two new fires were reported in the San Diego area in Southern California. Evacuations were ordered but were later lifted after a brush fire erupted late on Thursday in the Wealthy La Jolla neighbourhood, near the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Further south, near the border with Mexico, another blaze was reported. A new fire had broken out and was quickly spreading through the Otay Mountain Wilderness. Rain is forecast this weekend, potentially ending Southern California's monthslong dry spell. Winds are also not as strong as they were when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out on 6 and 7 January, which has contained the spread of new fires. Authorities say that was one of the main reasons they were able to quickly contain so much of the Hughes fire in the Castaic area. They also note that helicopters were dropping water on the fire to prevent its growth until the early hours of the morning. California is set to spend $2.5 billion (€2.39 billion) to help the Los Angeles area recover from all the wildfires, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a relief package on Thursday. Newsom signed the laws after state Legislature approved them with bipartisan support. The package will address the state's disaster response efforts, such as evacuations and shelters, as well as removing household hazardous waste. Lawmakers also approved $4 million (€3.8 million) for local governments to streamline approvals for rebuilding homes and $1 million (€957 thousand) to support school districts and help them rebuild facilities. — Euronews
