A massive wildfire burning in California’s Central Coast has injured at least three people, forced hundreds to evacuate, and burned nearly 40,000 acres as it continues to grow on Sunday, officials said.
The Gifford fire, which broke out Friday afternoon near Highway 166 northeast of Santa Maria in the Los Padres National Forest, had scorched 39,676 acres and was 5% contained as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire. The flames are burning near the 80,779-acre Madre fire scar — the state’s largest wildfire so far this year — and are threatening areas in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Fire officials said the blaze is currently threatening 360 residences. More than 560 personnel have been assigned to the incident.
Injuries reported
Officials confirmed at least three injuries as a result of the 5% contained fire so far. According to the Forest Service, one civilian was airlifted to a medical center to be treated for burn injuries and two contractor employees were hospitalized after a UTV rollover incident. One of the contractors sustained moderate injuries and was hoist-rescued, and the other was taken by ambulance for minor injuries.
Their conditions were not immediately provided.
Evacuations and road closures
As of Sunday morning, San Luis Obispo County officials issued a new evacuation order for Zone LPF-015, located north of Highway 166. The alert went out at 10:20 a.m., according to the county’s Office of Emergency Services.
Santa Barbara and SLO counties issued initial evacuation orders and warnings on Friday night in the following zones, which, as of Sunday, were still in effect. In total, Cal Fire said 226 people have been evacuated so far.
Evacuation orders: LPF-016, LPF-017, LPF-018, LPF-019, LPF-165, SLC-335, SLC-336, SLC-337, SBC-159A, SBC-161A, SBC163, SBC167.
Evacuation warnings: LPF-015, SLC-297 in San Luis Obispo County, and SBC-159B, SBC-161B, SBC-169-A in Santa Barbara County.
Highway 166 is closed between Highway 101 and New Cuyama due to fire activity.
For the latest evacuation updates, residents can visit ReadySBC.org (Santa Barbara County) and EmergencySLO.org (San Luis Obispo County).
Weather and fire outlook
The National Weather Service said warm, dry conditions are expected to continue Sunday and into the night, with increasing northwest to northeast winds in the interior mountains of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where gusts could reach 20 to 35 mph. Stronger winds of 25 to 45 mph are possible along the Interstate 5 corridor and into the western Antelope Valley.
Humidity levels are expected to drop to 10 to 20%, creating brief critical fire weather conditions that could drive further fire growth.
Air quality alerts remain in effect across the region due to heavy smoke. On Saturday night, smoke from the fire turned the moon a hazy orange across parts of the Central Coast and Southern California.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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