Five fires broke out in southern California before US President Donald Trump’s visit to the state.
The fire – named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 – broke out on Thursday in Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside counties.
Meanwhile, firefighters have made progress in controlling the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles, which has been 36% contained since it broke out on Wednesday.
Fire has ravaged the American landscape in the past few weeks, as the Palisades and Eaton fires burned a total of more than 37,000 acres and killed at least 28 people.
Here is some information about recent fires, based on updates from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire):
- The Border 2 fire in San Diego covers 800 acres. Exit orders are currently in effect
- The Laguna Fire in Ventura is 94 acres and 70% contained.
- The Sepulveda fire in Los Angeles covers 45 hectares and is 60% contained. In an update posted to X, the Los Angeles Fire Department said it has stopped the fire from spreading and evacuation orders have been lifted.
- The Gibbel Fire broke out in Riverside County, covering 15 acres. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading
- The Gilman wildfire in San Diego covers two acres, but the fire’s progress has been halted.
Trump is expected to visit Los Angeles on Friday to assess the damage from the wildfires.
The newly installed president has been highly critical of the fire response and has threatened to withhold federal aid if California fails to reform its water management.
He criticized the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and repeatedly said that the state has water problems because it has diverted resources to keep a small fish called smelt.
When asked by the US media if he would cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Trump said: “I might have to do that. Sometimes that’s all you can do. California is a good example of that.
“If you poll people, they don’t want sanctuary cities, but Gavin Newsom does. And these political zealots do.”
Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hoped Trump would not deny government aid.
“The most important thing we’re focused on is getting the government help in California, in these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes,” he said.
“In the history of this country, federal disaster aid has never been tied up when you do this, you get that. This is an ongoing conversation, it’s never happened.”
The Hughes fire — the state’s third-largest after the Palisades and Eaton fires — forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate after it broke out Wednesday.
According to Cal Fire, the team was able to continue to contain the fire which was burning hot on Thursday.
Los Angeles is under the highest fire risk zone today with strong winds, according to BBC Weather.
Rain is expected over the weekend in the region, and snow in the mountains of southern California.
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