Stormy winds and scorching drought are testing firefighters battling new fires in southern California on Monday, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A new fire has grown in size over the past 24 hours, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate from the area north of Los Angeles.
The "Hughes" fire, which broke out yesterday morning about 80 kilometers north of the metropolis, has already covered 4,118 hectares, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported on its website.
The statement specified that the four thousand Firefighters battling the fire have contained it to 14 percent of its area.
A smaller fire, called the "Sepulveda", was burning on the 405 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley today, near the "Gateway" museum, home to many art treasures, Reuters reported.
There are also exhibits in the exhibition of Thracian treasures "Ancient Thrace and the Ancient World: Treasures from Bulgaria, Romania and Greece".
Crews battling the "Hughes" and two other large fires in the state, the "Palisades" and "Eaton", will have to deal with hurricane-force "Santa Ana" winds with speeds up to 80 km/h, with gusts up to 105 km/h, and humidity levels dropping below 10 percent throughout the day today and tomorrow, forecasters said.
"Weather conditions are in place that create a fire hazard, with the risk being greatest on Thursday," the National Weather Service said. "Any new fire could grow rapidly and get out of control," forecasters added.
About 31,000 people were evacuated yesterday as huge flames and columns of smoke rose over the hills around Castaic Lake, near Santa Clarita.
The "Eaton" and the Palisades, which have devastated entire neighborhoods on the east and west sides of Los Angeles, killing 28 people and damaging or destroying nearly 16,000 buildings in the past two weeks, Reuters noted.
Crews battling the Hughes Fire are using helicopters to scoop water from a lake and dump it on the outside, while planes are spraying fire retardant over the hills, KTLA television video showed.