Two new wildfires ignite around Los Angeles

Firefighters on Thursday battled five wildfires around the city that together have burned more than 40,000 acres. At least 28 people died in the fires, which destroyed at least 15,000 structures by Thursday morning. A new brush fire called the Sepulveda Fire erupted early Thursday morning to the east of the massive Palisades Fire that has been burning for weeks.

In addition, the Hughes Fire broke out Wednesday about 45 miles north of the Palisades and Eaton fires, spreading over more than 10,000 acres by Thursday morning. Authorities issued evacuation orders and warnings for more than 50,000 people in the area as firefighting aircraft dumped fire retardant on the fire. Meanwhile, officials lifted initial evacuation orders for the Palisades Fire.

What does the weather forecast say? A red flag warning of conditions favorable for fast-moving brush fires remained in place for much of the Los Angeles area through Friday morning as the risk of fire remained high. Meanwhile, Southern California could see a small amount of rain over the weekend and the mountains around Los Angeles were forecasted to receive snow as a cold storm system moved over the region, according to the National Weather Service.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report about the fires spreading to San Diego.