Firefighters who battled through the night to tame a new blaze that erupted near Los Angeles appeared to be making progress, even as dangerous fire weather continued throughout Southern California.

A massive response involving aircraft, bulldozers and 4,000 personnel had swung into action as flames raced across hillsides in Castaic, 56km (35 miles) north of Los Angeles.

About 31,000 people were ordered to flee their homes, heaping misery on a region already reeling from the two deadly fires that ripped through America’s second biggest city this month.

The newly emerged Hughes fire continued to grow overnight, and by Thursday had consumed 10,000 acres (4,050 hectares), but its rate of growth had slowed considerably after an explosive first few hours.

Firefighters said the blaze was 14 percent contained – an expression of how much of the perimetre they are confident is static.