In Southern California, another 31,000 people have received mandatory evacuation orders as a new wildfire north of Los Angeles broke out and quickly scorched through 10,000 acres Wednesday. Rights groups are urging authorities to completely evacuate the Pitchess Detention Center, which houses some 4,700 prisoners and is in the evacuation zone for the Hughes fire.

Meanwhile, health experts are warning Angelenos who lost their homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires to use extra precautions if returning to retrieve personal items amid the rubble, as toxic chemicals including lead, asbestos and arsenic are likely present in the ashes. Air quality data shows atmospheric concentrations of lead, which is a neurotoxin, hit 100 times average levels in Los Angeles during the worst of the wildfires.