Fast-moving blaze near Castaic Lake scorches nearly 10,000 acres in a matter of hours  By Signal Staff  A fast-moving brush fire that started near Castaic Lake shortly after 10:40 a.m. Wednesday forced the evacuation of approximately 30,000 residents, with another 20,000 under evacuation warnings.  Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest Service have 4,000 firefighting personnel battling the blaze, which was estimated to be over 9,400 acres at 5% containment as of Wednesday night. Thousands of structures were threatened, but none had been reported lost as of Wednesday evening.   “The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone at a press conference held at College of the Canyons on Wednesday evening.  The blaze, being called the Hughes Fire, spread quickly along both sides of Lake Hughes Road to the northeast of the lake, and radio dispatch traffic shortly after 11 a.m. indicated spot fires were popping up near the Ridge Route, approaching Interstate 5, prompting evacuations of residences, businesses and schools in the Castaic area.  “It is continuing to grow,” Deputy Robert Jensen of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, said Wednesday afternoon around 1:30 p.m., adding that as of that time there were 20,000 residents in areas under evacuation order, with another 16,000 under evacuation warning. There were more than 6,000 structures threatened and 3,500 more were being considered for evacuation, a figure expected to grow, Jensen said Wednesday afternoon.  L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna reported that, as of 5 p.m., 31,000 people had been affected by evacuation orders, with 23,000 people impacted by evacuation warnings.  Marrone reported that no structures had been lost as they switched to their night plan on how to battle the fire.   He said that overnight firefighters would be working on getting more perimeter control, making sure hotspots are put out, and focusing on having enough resources in staging in case of a flare-up.  Red Cross volunteers said that that a shelter has been set up at the Valencia College of the Canyons campus in the East Gym, located at 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road. They will be providing safety, comfort, food, and water to anyone who has been impacted by the fire.  A temporary shelter-reunification center had been set up at both Valencia High School and The Cube, the city-run ice rink that’s across the street from the high school. Those places were being used until a more permanent location can be established.  A temporary evacuation point also had been set up at Hart High School, but all evacuees were moved to COC.  At 2:13 p.m. on Wednesday, ANF officials posted an updated evacuation order for the neighborhoods of Reyes Adobe, Francisquito, Tesoro Del Valle, Bitter Canyon, Sterling Lane, Sterling, Biscailuz and Charlie Canyon.   Castaic Sports Complex and Paradise Ranch Mobile Home Park were placed under evacuation order as of 11:20 a.m.  North Lake Hills Elementary was also being evacuated just after 11:30 a.m., according to Charmin Ortega, executive assistant to the superintendent of the Castaic Union School District.  Castaic High School, Castaic Middle School and Castaic Elementary School were all listed as being under evacuation orders as of 11:40 a.m.  Later Wednesday afternoon, the Castaic district sent a message to families that all campuses would be closed on Thursday. Santa Clarita Valley International is also set to be closed on Thursday.  Castaic Middle and elementary schools were being evacuated to the Ralphs parking lot at Hasley Canyon Road, while North Lake was being evacuated to the Castaic Sports Complex, according to the CHP Newhall-area office.  “As many of you may know, a vegetation fire is currently burning on the east side of Castaic Lake,” reads an alert sent by the William S. Hart Union High School District to Castaic High families. “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.  “For any students who are not able to be picked up, we have buses coming at this time to transport students to West Ranch High School. We will notify all families once those buses leave so you will know where to pick your child up.”  In a message sent to the entire Hart district community just after 12:30 p.m., families were alerted that no other schools were in warning areas but that officials were “closely monitoring the situation and air quality” and updates would be provided as necessary.   Valencia High and Rio Norte Junior High were eventually put under an evacuation warning, but after dismissal time, according to an alert sent to families and staff.  “Both schools have reached dismissal time and all after school activities are canceled. We will provide further information before the start of school tomorrow,” the alert read.  Later in the day, the Hart district announced several schools would be closed Thursday: Castaic High School, Valencia High School, Rio Norte Junior High School and Academy of the Canyons.  Saugus Union School District Superintendent Colleen Hawkins said the district has notified parents “out of an abundance of caution” that classes were cancelled Wednesday at Tesoro Del Valle and West Creek elementary schools. The district’s Child Development Program is closed for the day.  Both the College of the Canyons Valencia campus and Canyon Country campus were closed and on-ground classes have been canceled for Wednesday, according to Wendy Trujillo, spokeswoman for the college and part of the incident command team. She said the college will be serving as a Red Cross evacuation center.  Online classes are still set to be held, Trujillo said.  Smoke could be seen Wednesday afternoon approaching homes in the north of Santa Clarita. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hatami. The COC board of trustees meeting set for Wednesday was canceled, as was the Saugus district’s asset management advisory committee meeting.  Trinity Classical Academy had parents pick students up starting just before noon, though the school was not in an evacuation zone at the time, according to school officials. The school is also set to be closed on Thursday and all athletic events are canceled.  Road closures have also been put into effect, according to a post from the Angeles National Forest on X at noon. They are as follows:  Ridge Route Road at Lake Hughes Road.  Ridge Route Road at Templin Highway.  Lake Hughes Road at Pine Canyon Road.  Dry Gulch Road at San Francisquito Canyon Road.  Golden State Freeway.  Bitter Canyon.  Sterling Lane.  Interstate 5 had been shut down between the Grapevine and State Route 126 as of 2:23 p.m., according to the CHP Newhall-area office.  “Due to the Hughes Fire in Castaic, the I-5 through the Grapevine will be closed for an unknown duration,” reads a post on X from the office. “The closures will be in place at SR-126 for northbound traffic and at Grapevine Road for southbound traffic. Use Quickmap or Google Maps to find alternate routes.”  As of 5 p.m., Luna said the I-5 would be opened going both ways but there would be limited access to:  I-5 NB to Parker Road off ramp.  I-5 NB to Lake Hughes Road off ramp.  The incident was initially reported as near Lake Hughes Road and Dry Gulch Road, but closer to Castaic Lake than Lake Elizabeth, according to radio dispatch traffic.  Initial radio dispatch reports indicated the fire quickly reached 50-100 acres and was crossing Lake Hughes Road.  L.A. County Fire Department personnel were dispatched to battle the fire at 10:39 a.m., according to Luis Garcia, a spokesman with the department’s media information line, adding the location is near Interstate 5.  An evacuation order was placed for Castaic Lake as of 11:08 a.m. Evacuation warnings were posted on protect.genasys.com, according to Jensen.  Dana Dierkes, public affairs officer for the Angeles National Forest, said firefighters were responding to the incident off Lake Hughes Road, north of Castaic Reservoir Road in Castaic.  The Route Fire erupted in August 2022 in a similar area near Castaic Lake and eventually burned 5,208 acres over multiple days, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website.   For the evacuation map, go to: https://bit.ly/3E78Ngj.  This is a breaking news story and additional information will be added as it becomes available.     The Hughes Fire erupted northeast of Castaic Lake and quickly burned southwest, prompting evacuations in Castaic Lake. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The Hughes Fire erupted northeast of Castaic Lake and quickly burned southwest, prompting evacuations in Castaic Lake. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal This is a breaking news story and additional information will be added as it becomes available.  The Hughes Fire erupted northeast of Castaic Lake and quickly burned southwest, prompting evacuations in Castaic Lake. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The Hughes Fire erupted northeast of Castaic Lake and quickly burned southwest, prompting evacuations in Castaic Lake. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The post Hughes Fire forces 30,000 evacuations  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.