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Hurst Fire Part of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires
Hurst Fire, shortly after starting, from the Oakridge Manufactured Home Park.
Date(s)	January 7, 2025 – present
Location	Los Angeles County, California, United States
Coordinates	34°19′30″N 118°28′41″W / 34.325°N 118.478°W / 34.325; -118.478
Statistics
Status	Ongoing wildfire
Perimeter	10% contained as of January 9, 2025, 9:40 a.m. (PT)
Burned area	>671 acres (272 ha; 1 sq mi; 3 km)
Ignition
Cause	Unknown
Map
The general location of the Hurst Fire in Southern CaliforniaShow map of CaliforniaHurst Fire (the United States)Show map of the United States

The Hurst Fire, also known as the Sylmar Fire, is an active wildfire burning in the Sylmar area of the city of Los Angeles in Southern California.

Cause

The cause of the fire is under investigation. According to some residents, an electrical explosion was witnessed at about 10 p.m. preceding the fire. It is one of three wildfires, the other two being the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, being concurrently driven by an extremely powerful Santa Ana wind event with gusts up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h; 45 m/s).

Progression

The fire started at 10:00 p.m. (PST) January 7, 2025, with an initial spread to 50 acres (20 ha) in ten minutes. The fire spread rapidly and was estimated to have doubled in size to 100 acres (40 ha) less than half an hour after it was reported. By 1:00 a.m. January 8, the fire was estimated to have spread to about 300 acres (120 ha), and by 1:49 a.m., the fire had spread to about 500 acres (200 ha), largely within the footprint of the 2019 Saddleridge Fire. By 8:02 p.m. the fire had grown to about 850 acres (340 ha). By 9:40 p.m., the fire stood at 855 acres (346 ha) and was at 10% containment after joint efforts by several fire authorities.

Impact and response

The fire was initially responded to by the Los Angeles Fire Department. By the night of January 8, joint efforts were initiated with the United States Forest Service, the County Fire Department, and CalFire, as well as the San Luis Obispo and San Diego fire departments. With a personnel of 300 and the aid of air tankers, firefighters were able to hold the fire within a planned containment area, placing the fire at 10% containment by 9:40 p.m. By 4:45 a.m., Thursday January 9, firefighters had successfully contained the fire north of the 210 Freeway and established control lines extending to Santa Clara Divide Road.

In early Wednesday, January 8, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant to ensure the availability of resources to suppress the Los Angeles fires, including the Hurst Fire.

On January 8, councilmember Monica Rodriguez reported to the San Fernando Valley Sun that the fire had not led to a loss of property at Oakridge, despite the fire encroaching the area.

Evacuations and warnings

Mandatory evacuation orders began to be sent out by 10:37 p.m., January 7, to the residents of Sylmar north of the 210 Freeway from the Newhall Pass interchange to Olive View Medical Center, including the Oakridge Manufactured Home Park and most of Rancho Cascades. Evacuation orders were extended by 12:36 a.m., January 8, west to the Sunshine Canyon Landfill and north into the San Gabriel Mountains, including Whitney Canyon Park and southern Newhall; evacuation warnings were also sent out to residents in the Knollwood area of Granada Hills and the area around O'Melveny Park. By 2:07 a.m., the evacuation orders for southern Newhall were downgraded to evacuation warnings; meanwhile, warnings were extended south of the 210 Freeway into the Rancho Cascades neighborhood of Sylmar, including the J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall. By 10:32 a.m., evacuation orders for the southern half of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill were downgraded to warnings. As of Wednesday night, the fire departments projected that a red flag warning would remain in effect for the area until 6 p.m. Thursday, January 9.

As of 3 p.m., Thursday, evacuation orders were lifted and downgraded to warnings, with authorities advising caution when returning. Authorities also advised residents not to drink water until advised by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power due to contamination from ash.

Evacuation centers were prepared for residents at the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center, where the American Red Cross is offering services for evacuees, as well as Northridge Park, and the Sepulveda Recreation Center. Accommodations for large animals were made at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

More than 44,000 people were given evacuation orders, and over 3,000 residents were reported to have evacuated from the area by January 8. Additionally, 71 horses were safely evacuated from the Stetson Ranch area to the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center the night of the fire. Some residents opted to remain in their cars awaiting clearance to return to their homes. By mid-morning, nearly 20 adults were reported to have sought shelter at the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center.

J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall

About an hour after the fire began, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Probation Department said that the nearby J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall had not yet been ordered to evacuate, but they were monitoring the situation and were prepared to do so. By 6:00 p.m. January 8, evacuation warnings were extended south into the area where the juvenile hall lies, but authorities had not yet evacuated the 96 juvenile detainees. The spokesperson reported that precautions were being taken and that the Probation Department had deployed additional staff to assist with potential emergencies or evacuations; however, news that the juveniles were not being evacuated caused outrage from juvenile justice advocates.

See also

• January 2025 Southern California wildfires
  • Palisades Fire (2025)
  • Eaton Fire
• Sayre Fire (2008), which burned in the same area
• Saddleridge Fire (2019), another fire that burned in the same area
• List of California wildfires

References

1. ^ "Sylmar Fire: Incident Update on 01/07/2025 at 10:37 PM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
2. "Hurst Fire". Cal Fire. State of California. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
3. ^ Torres, María Luisa (January 8, 2025). "More Than 3,000 Evacuated Near Site of Hurst Fire in Sylmar". The San Fernando Valley Sun. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
4. Ramos, Annie Rose; Samra, Christine (January 8, 2025). "Hurst Fire burns near Sylmar mobile home park that burned down over 15 years ago". KTLA5. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
5. Rendon, Karla (January 7, 2025). "San Fernando Valley firefighters respond to brush fire in Sylmar". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
6. ^ "Hurst Fire". Los Angeles Fire Department. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
7. "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/08/2025 at 1:49 AM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
8. "Hurst Fire". Los Angeles Fire Department. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
9. "Hurst Fire | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
10. ^ "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/08/2025 at 9:40 PM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
11. "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/09/2025 at 4:45 AM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
12. ^ "California secures federal assistance to support response to Hurst Fire in Los Angeles County". Governor of California. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
13. "California secures federal assistance to support response to Eaton and Hurst Fires in Los Angeles County". Cal OES News. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
14. "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/08/2025 at 12:36 AM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
15. Smith, Perry (January 8, 2025). "Hurst Fire updates: SCV evacuation orders withdrawn". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
16. ^ "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/08/2025 at 2:07 AM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
17. "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/08/2025 at 10:32 AM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
18. "Hurst Fire: Incident Update on 01/09/2025 at 3:56 PM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
19. Norris, Semantha Raquel (January 9, 2025). "Monumental Fires Rage Across Los Angeles". The San Fernando Valley Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
20. Sheets, Connor; Ellis, Rebecca (January 7, 2025). "Hurst fire erupts in Sylmar; evacuations ordered". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles fires. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
21. Queally, James (January 8, 2025). "Evacuation warning for juvenile hall in path of Hurst fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2025.

External links

• Hurst Fire on the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's website
• Hurst Fire on the Los Angeles Fire Department's website

• 2025 in Los Angeles
• January 2025 events in the United States
• January 2025 Southern California wildfires
• Sylmar, Los Angeles
• Wildfires in Los Angeles County, California