Photo of charred hillside around Castaic Lake.
A view of the burned hillsides around Castaic Lake. The photo was taken from CSUN’s Aquatic Center by Program Coordinator Erin Eiholzer. Photo courtesy of Erin Eiholzer.

A manager for CSUN’s Aquatic Center at the Castaic Lake Recreation Area reports the facility escaped unharmed from last week’s wind-whipped Hughes fire that broke out on Wednesday, Jan. 22. 

The Aquatic Center, which is managed by the Department of Recreation and Tourism Management in the College of Health and Human Development, is a facility for boating education and water safety programs. Generations of Matadors have taken classes there in water skiing, wake boarding and sailing. The center is located on the south-west end of the Lower Lagoon of Castaic Lake. The fire burned to the east side of the lagoon, directly across the water from the facility’s dock and buildings. Erin Eiholzer, the program coordinator for the Aquatic Center and high ropes course, said there was no fire or smoke damage, despite proximity to the flames. 

“We have been very lucky and grateful to the fire teams for their extreme efforts since the beginning of this year,” Eiholzer said 

Eiholzer says classes will start at the facility in March, as scheduled. Spring 2025 classes take place during the last eight weeks of the semester. 

The Hughes fire that broke out near Castaic Lake on Jan. 22, 2025 is now 98% contained, according to the most recent update from Cal Fire, which is the fire department for the California Natural Resources Agency. The Hughes fire quickly grew to more than 10,000 acres in the windy conditions, prompting mandatory evacuations and the closure of I-5 in both directions. 

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