Firefighters continue to make progress in containing the massive Hughes Fire that broke out Wednesday near Castaic Lake, growing to more than 10,000 acres and forcing mass evacuations. Around 38,000 people remain under evacuation warnings even as containment has reached 56%.

Firefighters gained more ground Thursday on a fast-moving brushfire that erupted north of Los Angeles the day before and within hours exploded to thousands of acres amid high winds, officials said.

As the sun began to set over Castaic Lake on Wednesday, the hills to the north and east were engulfed in flames, casting an eerie orange glow across the valley below.

Firefighters made progress on the more than 10,000-acre Hughes Fire Friday, which sent thousands fleeing after sparking near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic a day earlier.

Evacuation orders and warnings were issued to more than 31,000 people in the vicinity of two new wildfires north of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

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.