This is Gary and Shannon and you're listening to KFI AM six forty the Gary and Shannon Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The Hughes Fire. This is a fire that is burning near Castiak Lake. The last indicator was that it's at five hundred acres, but it's well above that by now, if you can just tell by some of the images that we have seen coming in from helicopters and other static cameras throughout the area. The fire started along Lake Hughes Road just northeast of Castaic Lake well over an hour ago and is up over five hundred It's probably closer to one thousand plus acres. Several areas around Castaic
Lake are now under evacuation orders. That includes the Bitter Canyon, the Charlie Canyon area, and then on the west side of I five anywhere along Hillcrest Parkway or Sloan Canyon Road going west towards Casteak High School. All of those areas are currently under evacuation orders.
The winds are about thirty three to thirty five miles per hour those are sustained. The fire, according to Cruz, is shifting towards the lake, but they're worried about the embers, the spot fires for surrounding communities. The winds are picking up. There are going to be higher winds as we move into the afternoon. A high wind warning in the area starting at two pm into ten and then ten tonight
again some more winds, some stronger gusts. They have a lot of fixed wing aircraft battling this thing from the sky. They were quick to get there the evacuation warning. It's got to stay on top of these again, don't wait. They are expanding by the moment now. New Hall CHPIE says they are considering a full closure of the five freeway in the Castaic area. It is open at this moment, but they say, is that smoke builds up? The smoke alone, says the CHP says. Closures are like just for your
planning purposes. If you are headed up I five, maybe you're not our own.
Jenny Harmon says that the five southbound is shut down at the one thirty eight. If you're listening to us as you're coming into the LA area from the Grapevine, you are going to be stopped.
It looks like the five at the one thirty eight.
If you're headed southbound, but as of right now, it looks like northbound is still open, although it's going to be jammed because people don't like driving through fire.
Give you an idea of how we are.
One of the resources that we've been using to make sure that we stay on top of this and that if you're in that area you're definitely going to want to utilize is the watch Duty app. You can download her on your phone. You could also use it on your desktop. The web address is app app dot watch duty dot org. It will help you figure out which of the county designated zones you are in and then help you figure out if you are in a zone
that is under an evacuation warning or an evacuation order area. Again, all of the areas right around Castaic Lake, a few places to the west of I five are under evacuation orders.
We've seen some of the images.
There are a handful of elementary schools, I shouldn't say a handful, but at least two elementary schools, middle school and a high school that are under these evacuation order areas. As this fire continues to burn, we've asked for your view of what's going on and Susan is in Santa Clarita. You you were kicked out of your office, right, Yes, I worked off of the.
L twenty six and the five in the industrial area and the fire started as a little, tiny, tiny thingler within twenty minutes has exploded and the winds are hard out there is flowing.
Very very hard.
Yeah, we saw gusts in that area as much as thirty thirty five miles an hour and some So.
That's where they're at right now, about the five miles per hower sustained. Whins Ventura County Star says, this thing started at a ten thirty.
I think we got wind of it at about eleven thirty.
By the time I mean it Win say something else, we aware, we're made aware of it. It had gotten and when we first saw the pictures, I said, how come we're just learning about this now?
I mean, it really took off within that first half hour.
Mark is calling from Santa Clarita as well. Mark, what's going on.
I'm on the Sorrow the Valley road in Santa Karita looking at the hillside and it's flowing it seems area more towards the Steake Lake area.
The smoke itself any can you tell if the fire is moving to the east, to the to the north, and to the east at all.
We've got strike teams deployed by the way from a lot of other areas, just to show you how serious.
They're treating this.
Hulver City Fire Department, for example, has been pre positioned in Santa Monica for this wind event today. Remember we mentioned the Santa Monica Mountains and Santa Clarita area from two pm tonight starting until really two pm tomorrow. From two to ten pm this afternoon, there's a wind event and then stronger gusts come in at ten in overnight. So firefighters have been prepositioned in other areas for this
in the Santa Monica area. Now they're headed to Castaic with engines from Santa Monica Beverly Hills, LA Fire Department. So they want to get on top of this thing right quick, despite the fact that they're prepositioned in areas where winds will also be kicking up in less than two hours.
If you have images or video that you want to send us from where you are about the Hues fire, you can always send them to us via Instagram at Gary and Shannon. You can also email them to us gas Bag Kfi at gmail dot com. Gas Bag Kfi at gmail dot com.
We'd love to see the.
Videos and the images that you have from where you are. You can also, like I said, send them to us via Instagram at Gary and Shannon. The evacuation orders have remained static for the last few minutes, which is a nice change, but they do continue all around Castac Lake and a few places in those neighborhoods along Sloan Canyon and Hillcrest Parkway on the west side of I five currently under evacuation orders.
I just got this out of CHP New Hall.
Ifive northbound at Parker Road off ramp and I five northbound at Lake Hughes Road off ramp will be shut down.
Last time they did that was for a winter storm.
So they do have a turnaround there that's going to be available for people to go back another way.
But they have requested two very large air tankers at this point as well. They had those water tenders out there, some DC ten, some fixed wing. Now they're asking for the heavy duty ones. They say there has not spotted over Castaic Lake at this time according to radio traffic. But again I five closure I five northbound at Parker Road off ramp and I five northbound at Lake Hughes Road off ramp will be shut down.
One more called Jim is headed on the one on one south of Ventura. What's going on, Jim?
Well, I'm actually in Santa Paula now on the one twenty sixth, and the smoke is that it's headed southwest west, so it's got Camillo covered parts one thousand oaks covered, and the wind is blowing like crazy out here. It's pumping me around in the box truck.
Pretty good, Yeah, all right.
Well, drive safe, Jim, driving there on the one twenty six one eight hundred five two zero one five three four eight hundred five to oh one KFI. Let us know if you have been affected by this fire burning near Castaic Lake, five hundred plus acres well over that by now it's being called the Hughes Fire, and there are a few thousand people who are under these evacuation orders because of this fire there.
With mandatory evacuations all over Castaic Lake area. The latest now is this fire is now thirty four hundred acres. Substantial in that this began at ten thirty and developed from fifty acres to five hundred within oh, I don't know, half an hour something of that nature now at thirty
four hundred acres. Speaking to the fuel, the way the winds are carrying this thing as well, and the massive response from firefighters in the air and on the ground, Strike Team's task force from all over the area flocking to this thing to get a handle on it.
The evacuation orders, as you mentioned on both sides of the lake, both sides of I five now as well Sloane Canyon and the Hillcrest Parkway area, that it does involve a handful of schools that have been evacuated or will be evacuated because they're in the evacuation order area. And then the evacuation warnings go as far south as the one twenty six, making their way sort of into the Santa Clarita Valley along what is Bouquet Canyon Road, Copper Hill Drive and things like that. As you get
closer into those are the warning areas. So people in those areas are being told to just kind of be ready and set to go in the event that this thing changes. Hard to get a grasp exactly as to which direction it is spreading, because while the smoke itself is blowing to the south and to the west, and we've seen a bunch of people.
That's the way.
That that that's the winds are coming from the north and the east, so it's.
Going to blow the smoke that way.
But it looks like the fire itself may be moving up the hills, which would put it against the direction of the winds.
If you're coming up or down I five.
Know that there are closures, probably going to be more, just an estimation right now. According to CHP new hal the I five northbound at par Road off ramp, it's shut down there, and at I five northbound at Lake Hughes Road that off ramps shut down as well.
Cody's on I five, what's going on?
Hey guys, I just got off the freeway here in Valencia.
The fire looks like it's flowing to the west, like you're saying.
I live in Green Valley, which.
Is up Copper Hill.
Hopefully it doesn't.
Climb the hill here in fight the wind.
But five is still open.
Not much traffic yet, but I'm sure it'll get worse.
Yeah, it definitely will.
It is closed farther up the freeway. As Shannon was mentioning if you were to go all the way to park a road a castag that is actually the beginning of the evacuation order zones.
So that's why they have that thing. They have that thing.
Close down just so you know east of Green Valley is there are evacuation warnings in place for east of Green Valley to the east there nearly to Samberg on the north as well.
You mentioned thirty four hundred acres already pretty quick expansion of this fire. And as I mentioned earlier, the original call was for four helicopters. They have asked for at least eight more and there's two, four, six, eight, twelve. It looks like they have all twelve of the helicopters on scene. There are others in the air in that area.
If you look at flight Radar twenty four, which is sort of the live air traffic look over the top of it, a bunch of large air tankers and as you mentioned, the very large air tankers have been requested. So they are hitting this with just about everything they have from the air that's available to them. And the original call was for fifty fire engines to take this on, a dozen hand crews, etc.
But you know that that number has expanded.
Also, again, it looks like northbound I five closed at Parker Road southbound at the one thirty eight way up near the Gorman area. So the ifive is closed northbound at Parker Road south found at the one thirty eight, it's gonna potentially stay that way for some time until this either the smoke clears or they can get a handle on some of the containment on this fire.
All right, If you've got images, you've got footage you want to share, you can email it to us at gas Bag Kfi at gmail dot com again, gas Bag Kfi at gmail dot com, or you can send it via Instagram.
Or Twitter at Garia and Gary and Shannon.
Jim is calling headed up the one twenty six. Jim, what do you see?
Wow?
Let me let me tell you guys.
I started off in Valencia there McBean by cal Arts. You can see the big.
Old Plomer's boat.
Of course, Capgate. It looks like it's going towards Camplin Highway.
I'm out here now.
One twenty six came out your fill more down, Paul, I mean Calreal, and it's raining ashes out here right now.
Ah, we lost you, Jim, Yeah, that's going to be spotty there. But yeah, that was one of the original zones that were worried about. There was Lake Hughes Road at Templan Highway, and that is why it's According to him, it has reached that area as well.
Yeah, those areas west of the fire itself where the smoke is going. We got a message from somebody who's working out at Silverstrand movie ranch out there where they have a bunch of different movie sets and said it was raining ash on them too, so they were getting out of the way as quickly as possible.
All right, we will stay on top of this. Let us know what you're seeing. Eight hundred five two zero one KFI is how you get us. Remember to send your footage to our email at Gasbag KFI at gmail dot com. More than thirty four hundred acres this thing has blown up to there the Hues fire and the Castaic area. Mandatory evacuations for communities in and around Lake Castaic Lake excuse me as well.
This thing began about ten and just took off.
We will get some rain this weekend, but it was quick to be all hands on deck for this one. Strike teams and prepositioned fire units that were in the Santa Monica Mountain areas also do to have high winds just like this area. Santa Clarita area as well tonight have made their way up to the Castaic area to help fight this thing. They have a whole regime of air fight, of firefighting, air attack vehicles right now that
are going on. I mean, you've got the fixed wing, You've got the water tenders, you've got the DC tens, You've got everything thrown at this thing.
The evacuations themselves. All of Casteak is under an evacuation order right now, both sides of I five, whether you're close to Castak Lagoon along the ridge route there Parker Road, or you're farther up if you happen to be on the west side and you're in the area of Sloane Canyon Road, those neighborhoods or Hillcrest Parkway gools along Hillcrest Parkway are under evacuation orders, as is Castaic High School, the Hasley Canyon area, and then from from those areas
down to the one twenty six you're seeing evacuation warnings. We've seen a lot of smoke in those areas making its way out the one twenty six towards Ventura, Oxnard, et cetera. And many of those places have been seeing ash falling down, so you're going to be impacted by.
A lot of that.
The entire area around Castaic Lake also technically under evacuation warnings Bitter Canyon, Charlie Canyon up until you get to well basically up until the mountains, as you get evacuation warnings in the Gorman area out to the one thirty
eight as it makes its way towards Lancaster. So a lot of evacuations, and specifically those areas west of I five I mentioned Sloan Canyon and Hillcrest Parkway, home to hundreds of homes there and potentially thousands of people that are under these evacuation orders.
When you talk about the schools, you must mention Castaic High School as well as Castake Middle School, Casteak Elementary, North Lake Hills Elementary has been evacuated to the local aquatic center there also I five. We're going to have closures. We are going to have closures. Well, we already have closures at the Parker Road off ramp I five North, as well as Lake Hughes Road off ramp but expect more as well. Thirty four thirty four hundred and seven acres.
That is the latest intel here. This, of course, just means the general burn area. This does not mean the areas where they have saturated neighborhoods with strike teams to protect structures and homes.
Carrie Anne is calling us eight hundred five to zero one five three four. By the way, carry in works there in Santa Clarita just nearby.
What do you see?
Lots of black smoke, now a lot of white smoke, but lots of black smoke, and a lot of traffic on Bouquet and New Hall Ranch roads because they've closed the off ramps, so now everyone is taking the back way to get to wherever they need to go.
Yeah, I think a lot of it can't take away.
As Shannon mentioned, thank you, carry in. By the way.
As Shannon mentioned, I five closed there at Parker Road, so you're not going to get up. That's just about as north as you can go. It almost takes you even with where the fire is burning, So northbound I five at Parker Road, the usual place they would cut off traffic for a winter storm, over the top of the grapevine.
This thing has the trifecta.
It's got a lot of fuel out there, it's got the winds with the weather, and it's got the challenging topography. This is the triangle of hell when it comes to wildfires.
For those of you who are in the area, if you have not yet done so, close all your windows and doors. I mean, it's not a warm enough day that people would have their windows and doors open necessarily, but it will keep the ashes out. If you could do that, we'll try to keep some of the smoke out, potentially keep some of the smoke smell. Marlena is also calling from the Santa Clarita area. Marlena, what do you see.
Now?
You're asking me why I see you. On my way to the gym, I saw the clouds and they had said it's going to range. I thought, oh my god, this clothes are pretty thick, and then when I came out, there were black and they're very sick. Are you kidding? How far are they from Santa Clarita? So that's where I live.
Well, where exactly in Santa Clarita are you? Because it's going to depend. I mean, if you lives at thirty four to twelve, Now, if you're over at Sierra Highway and Solidad Canyon. Well, it's still a couple of miles away from you, and hopefully it's not even burning that direction. But you know, just be aware of it. You're obviously aware of it. You know what's going on, So keep an eye on this thing here.
I thought it was a rain clause until I came out of the gym. I thought, oh my god, they're black.
Not a range quicker.
Yeah, the kind of rain we get around here, we don't get clouds that big, not anymore.
All right, Okay, well, good luck you guys.
How was your workout? How was your workout?
Okay?
Thanks? Good good?
Was it a cardio day or weights or what?
No?
I have to do both. It turns out I have osteoporosis. I didn't know. I'm a dancer. Then I do a ballet workout and I do kelenetics and I do just you know, but I never did the weight But now I have to do weight lifting because I had osteoporosis.
So I'm trying a new ballet class this evening. I love I love the ballet. I love the stretching. Feels good, feels good.
Where are you taking ballet.
I take a zoom class with Miss Patricia, who actually lives in the Lake Hughes area, once a week, and then I'm taking.
A couple of classes.
I'm taking what Opacady and one in Long Beach as well.
Wow, a lot of driving around.
I will drive for ballet, you know, I will do that.
Well.
Good, good, good, Anya.
I'm glad you got a good workout in fight that osteoporosa.
Thank you appreciated, Thanks, thank you.
The evacuation center has been set up at Valencia High School, which is on Dixon Drive there in Valencia, Valencia High School is up as an evacuation center. If you have animals, you can take them farther north, although I I'm not quite sure how you're going to get there just yet, unless you go down I five and back up and around. But in Lancaster and in Palmdale they have opened up
animal evacuation centers animal shelters for you as well. We have been following the story out of the northern part of La County, the Hues fire burning your Castaic Lake. I five is actually shut down at Casteak at Parker Road I five northbound and then I five southbound, shut down at the one thirty eight as they try to control people through that area. The smoke is what is the most problematic in that area. The fire itself has
encroached upon. If you think of Castaic Lake as a v it is around the right side, the east side of Castaic Lake, burning right up to the water in some of those areas. According to the new map that was just published, thirty four hundred acres thirty four hundred and seven specifically is what they're looking at right now. The evacuation center has been opened up at Valencia High School. There are several schools in the evacuation order area, including
a Castaic High School. A couple of these schools that are between I five and the lake itself. So there are other areas North Lake Hills Elementary School, Castaic Elementary, Castaic Middle. All of those schools have been evacuated because of this fire.
Grab your pets, grab what.
They need, Grab your documents, your pharmacy stuff, your meds, cell phone chargers, if you've got one of those COVID masks around, those are coming in.
Just don't wait. If we've learned anything the past few weeks, just don't even freaking wait.
For that. The wind is just going to unfortunately get worse in that area coming up in the next hour. There is a high wind warning from two pm to ten pm for the Santa Monica Mountains and the Santa Clarita area.
This is a wind driven I don't have to tell you that. If you've seen the pictures.
The topography is very hard to get to for a ground cruise, which is why the air attack is so robust on this as well. The five does have some closures there, and I'm assuming that it's just going to get worse.
I mean, it is just a solid red line there.
If you're looking at SIG alert through the Castaic area there, you're not going to go anywhere anytime soon, and there will be more closures.
That Pitches Detention Center exists in an evacuation warning area right now, but the understanding is that it is in the process of being evacuated. Also, just to give you an idea of how serious this is and how significant it is, we counted I kind of twelve helicopters above this fire, several air tankers that have come in. Again, one of the positives is that it is relatively close to Lancaster, so those fixed wing aircraft that need to
go and resupply with water or fire retardant. They can do so over in Lancaster pretty quickly and then get back over the mountain the hills there and get over this fire. Eight hundred and five to two zero one five three four. Antonio is calling us from Oxnard. What's going on?
Antonio?
Hi, folks.
Yes, I'm here at the off ramp of Venture Road in one oh one in Oxnard. We got ash snowing down on us and an ominous looking gray orange cloud. I told my son, he was asking, Hey, where's this coming from? And I told him it's the Huges fire. He couldn't believe that was coming from so far away. But yeah, snowing ashdown on us. I hope the best for those people over there.
Yeah, awesome, Thank you for calling Antonio. Appreciate it. That's I mean, it's not awesome, but.
That's like the sentiment you say awesome, the way I say interesting, interesting, that's awesome.
It's awesome.
We need to get back into Thesauruses that would be in the new year.
Again.
This Hughes fire mapped at just over thirty four hundred acres. Fire perimeter is mostly right along the I guess the eastern arm of Castaic Lake as it exists. It started right along Hughes Road Lake Hughes Road, and for the most part appears to have burned just to the south and to the west. There are a few places sort of the Red Mountain area Warm Springs Mountain, that are
still threatened by this fire. And as much black smoke as we have seen black smoke being the active burning, we are seeing a lot of white smoke at least from the aerial shots where the fire that itself was subject to water drops by other helicopters.
Or some of these fixed wing aircraft. So that is good news.
Good news again too with the reservoir in the area.
Yeah, no, kidd in Casteak Lake is right there. You've got Pyramid Lake not too far away. The opportunity for helicopters, even those superscoopers. I don't know if there's enough runway there at Casteak for them to use, but at least the helicopters have an opportunity if it's not obscured by smoke too much to use water that happens to be right there for them to pick up and take care
of this thing. There were other reports of other fires, in fact they're much farther south, but fires in the San Diego area that had cropped up over the last short period of time. So if those turn out to be anything, we will keep an eye on those. The red flag warning that we had seen that was supposed to expire last night has been expanded until tomorrow night, or extended, i should say. And as you mentioned, the expectation is we're going to see some more gusts wind wise this afternoon, they.
Said, from two to ten in the Santa Monica Mountains as well as the Santa Clarita area, you're going to have wins about forty miles per hour GUS to fifty five from two pm to ten pm, and then after ten pm the GUS becomes stronger up to sixty miles an hour. So that is why they are trying to contend with this thing on their own time right now before those winds pick up even more again. It is going to be a mess on the five all afternoon
into the evening, really more so than usual. When you say mess on the five, it's like, yeah, thanks, obviously, but even more so as you can imagine today.
Yeah, I five closed at Parker Road headed northbound again, that's usually where they would close it in the event of a severe winter storm where there's going to be snow at the top the grape vine.
So there is a turnaround.
There's a traffic turnaround that's available to them there if they've opened that up. That's northbound and then southbound. If you're coming back to LA from parts North, you're going to be stopped at the one thirty eight and they'll make you either wait or turn around.
It looks like that's going to be in effect for several hours.
Like you said, that Lake Hughes Road exit right there looks awful. I mean, it is, just it's one of those things where you're trapped. You're like trapped on that off ramp there and there's nowhere really to go.
And everything to the right of that, I mean everything to the east of that exit, that's all under an evacuation order anyway. So it's not like you can go hang out at a restaurant and kill kill some time there. So all right, John will continue coverage, as will the KFI newsroom continue coverage of the Hughes fire up in
the the Castaic Lake area. And again all you can after the show even send us more of your images, video images, whatever it is, gas Bag KFI at gmail dot com and we'll continue to post those on our social media At Gary and Shannon John.
Cobalt Show coming up next, we will see you. Manyanay drive everybody blessings.
You've been listening to the Gary and Shannon Show, you can always hear us live on KFI AM six forty nine am to one pm every Monday through Friday, and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app