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Huge Smoke Cloud Seen as Lake Fire Forces Evacuations

Fire crews in Los Angeles County were battling a fast-moving brush fire on August 12 and 13, as it grew to 10,000 acres, reports said.

Known as the Lake Fire, the blaze was first reported at 3.38 pm on August 12, according to fire officials. Within 15 minutes of the original report of a fire, it had grown to 50 acres; within 45 minutes, 400 acres were burned, the LA County Fire Department said.

Chief Deputy of Emergency Operations David Richardson said on Wednesday night that the fast-moving fire had split off in two directions – toward Pine Canyon Road and toward Lake Hughes Road.

Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to the fire.

Sheriff’s deputies evacuated residents in several threatened areas just after 8.15 pm, due to the “extreme fire behavior.”

The Red Cross opened local shelters for evacuated residents in Castaic and Palmdale.

As of August 13, officials said the fire was zero percent contained and had burned 10,500 acres.

This footage shows the plume of smoke from the fire on August 12. Credit: David Orioli via Storyful