The blaze temporarily closed parts of Interstate 5 and prompted evacuation orders and warnings for more than 50,000 people.

A wildfire erupted near Castaic Lake Wednesday, sending plumes of smoke into neighboring Ventura County areas. Here's what to know.

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.

Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.

A fast-moving wildfire exploded to roughly 10,200 acres near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic Wednesday morning, prompting mandatory evacuation orders and road closures, authorities said.

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.

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.