The Palisades and Eaton wildfires also continue burning in the Los Angeles area, leaving parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

Firefighters have battled multiple fires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties over the last few days. But after an epic dry streak, Southern California will get its first real rain of the winter this weekend.

The fire threat remains critical in Southern California, where thousands of residents were under evacuation orders Wednesday as fire crews battled the out-of-control Hughes Fire near Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

With many communities still smoldering from the Los Angeles wildfires, the forecast for rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

Exhausted firefighters battling deadly infernos for weeks are now grappling with more wildfires torching Southern California – including one that’s threatening 14,000 structures.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in an update Thursday that 18 people remain missing after the Southern California wildfires. Overall, authorities received a total of 43 missing persons reports related to the Eaton and Palisades fires. Of those, 12 were located safe.

Coverage of the Hughes, Sepulveda and Laguna fires in Southern California during a fourth consecutive day of red flag fire weather warnings.

Firefighters in Southern California are once again battling a wildfire, this time in Castaic in Los Angeles County, north of Los Angeles itself. Evacuation orders have been issued for the surrounding areas.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters quickly extinguished several brush fires that erupted Monday in Southern California amid windy and dry conditions. The extreme fire weather is raising the risk of new wildfires like the two major blazes still burning near Los Angeles that started in similar weather nearly two weeks ago.

As winds across the Southern California area are calmer than their peak and firefighters are making progress, the threat to the fire-weary region remains with Santa Ana winds expected to continue in the coming days.

The Hughes fire seen from Magic Mountain has started north of Castaic and has exploded to more than 5,000 acres in under two hours on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Castaic, California. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS) (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Rain began falling in parched Southern California on Saturday in a boon for firefighters who were mopping up multiple wildfires. But heavy downpours on charred hillsides