Hughes Fire evacuees take shelter at COC 

Evacuees were able to come to the American Red Cross' Disaster Relief site at College of the Canyons' gym Wednesday night to seek food and shelter on Jan. 22, 2025. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal
Evacuees were able to come to the American Red Cross' Disaster Relief site at College of the Canyons' gym Wednesday night to seek food and shelter on Jan. 22, 2025. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal
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Castaic and Valencia residents evacuated to the American Red Cross shelter set up at the east gym on the Valencia campus of College of the Canyons as the Hughes Fire raged on Wednesday night.  

Brian Mansur, a Valencia resident, said that he came to the shelter looking for a temporary placement after making sure his daughters were safe.  

In his 15 years of living in Santa Clarita, he said he has never had to evacuate due to a fire.  

“We get a lot of fires around here when it is fire season,” Mansur said. “This year has been odd because all the fires are somewhere else but now, today we have the fire here.”  

He said that he had been monitoring the progress of the fire on the Watch Duty app, noting that the fire was at 50 acres just before 11 a.m. and by Wednesday night it was almost at 10,000 acres.  

When he began to be alerted that his house fell under an evacuation warning zone, he immediately thought of everything he had to grab.  

“For me, first and foremost, it’s my family. My family were at other places that were safe, and then it comes down to pictures and keepsakes,” said Mansur. “Little bit of clothes and then you check on your neighbors, see how they’re doing and then you go.” 

He added that as he was leaving his house, he wanted to make sure that he took everything he needed with him because the deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station were closing the streets and preventing entry unless you walked back in on foot.  

Mansur said that he had seen multiple fires burn in the Santa Clarita Valley, but the Hughes Fire was unique in its rapid growth, prompting a massive aerial and ground response. 

“I mean, just the planes, I saw the helicopters. I saw the 747. They’re on it,” he said. “I’m really happy and impressed with the firefighters and local law enforcement, and even the community members.” 

Evacuees were able to come to the American Red Cross' Disaster Relief site at College of the Canyons' gym Wednesday night to seek food and shelter on Jan. 22, 2025. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal
Evacuees were able to come to the American Red Cross’ Disaster Relief site at College of the Canyons’ gym Wednesday night to seek food and shelter on Jan. 22, 2025. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal

Castaic residents Janet and Lisa McGrath said they were at the senior living apartments on Castaic Road when they noticed the sky was turning orange.  

Lisa McGrath said, “We get a lot of fire evacuations, and you never know which ones are the real ones and which ones aren’t.”  

They recounted how firefighters and deputies came knocking on the doors to get out of the building immediately, but they decided to stay until they absolutely had to leave. 

With seven dogs packed up in their car, they came to the Red Cross shelter looking to see if they could stay.  

As people came to the parking lot, Raviv Netzah came from Woodland Hills, set up a small cooking area, and began cooking hot food to give away. 

Netzah said that he had done the same thing when the Palisades Fire broke out. He began to cook and give away food to first responders and anyone who was impacted by the fires.  

When he heard the Hughes Fire broke out in Castaic, he packed up his supplies and left to come cook for people. 

“I just do it to be kind,” he said. “To try and reduce the stress a little bit. My wife always says I give love through food. This is what I can do. I can’t do much else. I can’t put the fire out.”  

He added that if the shelter moved then he would move with it and try to help out where he could.  

Angel Sauceda, regional communications director for the American Red Cross, said that if they had to move the shelter again, they will work with L.A. County officials to make sure residents are the getting the information as fast as possible.  

She added that they will always announce it on social media and update the Watch Duty app.  

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