LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday for tens of thousands as firefighters with air support slowed the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, but new blazes erupted in San Diego County, briefly triggering more evacuations.
Southern California is under a red flag warning for critical fire risk through Friday. The area has been facing constant challenges in controlling the fires, as dangerous winds gained strength again Thursday.
The Hughes Fire late Wednesday morning and in less than a day charred nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the devastating that are burning for a third week.
Crews made significant progress by late afternoon on the Hughes Fire, with more than one-third of it contained.
Two new blazes were reported Thursday in the San Diego area. Evacuations were ordered but were later lifted after a brush fire erupted in the late afternoon in the wealthy enclave of La Jolla near the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. Further south, near the U.S.-Mexico border, another blaze was quickly spreading through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, home to the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly and other unique species.
In Ventura County, a new fire briefly prompted the evacuation of California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo. Water-dropping helicopters made quick progress against the Laguna Fire that erupted in hills above the campus of about 7,000 students. The evacuation order was later downgraded to a warning.
Rain is forecast for the 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, allowing for firefighting aircraft to dump tens of thousands of gallons of .
That helped the fight against the Hughes Fire in the Castaic area north of Los Angeles, allowing helicopters to drop water, which kept it from growing, fire spokesperson Jeremy Ruiz said.
鈥淲e had helicopters dropping water until around 3 a.m. That kept it in check,鈥� he said.
Nearly 54,000 residents in the Castaic area were still under evacuation warnings Thursday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. There were no reports of homes or other structures burned.
Kayla Amara drove to Castaic鈥檚 Stonegate neighborhood Wednesday to from the home of a friend who had rushed to pick up her daughter at preschool. As Amara was packing the car, she learned the fire had exploded in size and decided to hose down the property.
Amara, a nurse who lives in nearby Valencia, said she鈥檚 been on edge for weeks as major blazes devastated Southern California.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been stressful with those other fires, but now that this one is close to home it鈥檚 just super stressful,鈥� she said.
The was more than three-quarters contained, and the Eaton Fire was 95% under control Thursday. The two fires have and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out Jan. 7.
Rain was expected to start Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Officials welcomed the wet weather, but crews also were shoring up hillsides and installing barriers to prevent debris flows as residents returned to the charred .
The California fires have overall caused at least $28 billion in insured damage and probably a little more in uninsured damage, according to Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modeling firm known for accurate post-catastrophe damage assessments.
On the heels of that assessment, California Republicans are against suggestions by President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others that federal disaster aid for victims of wildfires should come with strings attached.
The state Legislature approved a more than Thursday, in part to help the Los Angeles area recover from the fires.
Trump plans to travel to the state to see the damage firsthand Friday, but it isn鈥檛 clear whether he and will meet during the visit.
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The story has been updated to correct to Castaic Lake, from Lake Castaic.
Christopher Weber, The Associated Press
