Nearly 20,000 people on Wednesday were ordered to evacuate as a huge and fast-moving wildfire swept through the rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, as parched Southern California endured another round of dangerous winds and two major previous blazes continued to smolder. The Hughes Fire broke out in the late morning and within hours charred nearly 21 square km of trees and brush, sending up plumes of dark smoke near Lake Castaic, a popular recreation area about 64 km from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week. A 48 km stretch of Interstate 5, a major north-south artery, was closed as flames raced along hilltops and down into wooded canyons. Crews on the ground and in water-dropping aircraft tried to prevent the wind-driven fire from moving across the interstate and toward Castaic, where most of the 19,000 residents were ordered to evacuate. Another 15,000 people in the area were warned to prepare to leave at a moment's notice, according to t