By Thursday afternoon, most of the highway had reopened, many evacuees were able to return home and the blaze near Castaic Lake, a reservoir about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, was 14 percent contained. The fire continued to burn away from homes in suburbs outside of Santa Clarita, and through woody hillsides at a state park.

By 2 a.m. local time Thursday, the Los Angeles Fire Department declared "all forward progress stopped" on the Sepulveda Fire and lifted the evacuation warnings. As of 8:30 a.m., the fire was 60% contained after consuming 40 acres, the LAFD said.