A wildfire that started this week about 45 miles northwest of Los Angeles quickly grew from a small fire to nearly 10,000 acres in just a few hours.

The Hughes Fire, which ignited on Wednesday and continued to spread on Thursday, is part of a troubling pattern of destructive fires that have emerged in southern California since January 7. Many of these fires have rapidly expanded, a common characteristic of the worst wildfires in the state.

These fast-moving blazes are fueled by extreme drought conditions, a lack of rain, and strong Santa Ana winds. This dangerous combination has led to deadly outcomes as wildfires continue to rage across the region.

What Caused the Hughes Fire to Spread So Quickly?

According to experts, one reason for the fire’s rapid spread is the prolonged absence of significant rainfall in Southern California over the past nine months, resulting in dangerous conditions.

“The vegetation is extremely dry,” stated LA County Fire public information officer Fred Fielding in an interview with NBC Los Angeles on Wednesday. “We’ve had two years of above-average rainfall (2023 and 2024)… so there are plenty of light grasses where fires can ignite, and if they reach the older vegetation, there’s a lot of energy there. When combined with the winds, it creates ideal conditions for a very fast spread.”

Additionally, the extremely low humidity contributes to the drying out of vegetation, making it an even more effective fuel for fires.

Rapid Fires Are Especially Destructive

In recent years, California’s wildfires have become significantly more destructive. Virginia Iglesias from the University of Colorado highlighted in the Conversation that research indicates U.S. wildfires are now up to four times larger and three times more frequent compared to the 1980s and ’90s. “Fast-spreading fires have been particularly damaging, responsible for 78% of destroyed structures and 61% of suppression expenses from 2001 to 2020.”

Iglesias noted that human expansion into fire-prone areas— especially in regions where homes meet forests or grasslands— has created new, highly flammable materials.

“Buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure ignite easily and burn faster and hotter than natural vegetation,” she explained. “These changes have notably altered fuel patterns, leading to conditions that promote more intense and harder-to-control wildfires.”

She emphasized that while climate change contributes to the likelihood of larger and more severe fires, “human activity plays a crucial role in exacerbating the situation.”

Strong Santa Ana Winds Intensifying Fires

One of the country’s most infamous wind events has intensified the destructive wildfires.

The Santa Ana winds, most common during the fall and winter, push dry air from California’s inland deserts and the Southwest towards the coast, according to the National Weather Service. As high-pressure systems move eastward over the Santa Ana Mountains, the wind is compressed and warms up, which can lead to fire hazards.

Janice Coen, a project scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, explained how these winds dry out vegetation along mountain ridges and can transport embers over long distances, facilitating rapid fire spread.

“A Clear Reminder” of Wildfire Dynamics

The swiftly spreading Hughes Fire serves as “a clear reminder of the unpredictable nature of wildfire behavior,” stated Firas Saleh, director of North American wildfires for Moody’s, a global research and analysis organization.

He added that the combination of wind conditions, dried vegetation, and low humidity all contributed to the fire’s swift growth.

In a recent estimate released on Thursday, Moody’s projects the financial losses from the wildfires in Los Angeles could reach between $20 billion and $30 billion.

Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, YSL News; Reuters