Highway 166 closed near Santa Maria due to wildfire

Update, 5:23 p.m.:

The Wineman Fire was 100% contained by 3 p.m. at 54 acres, allowing Highway 166 to reopen, according to Cal Fire SLO.

Update, 3 p.m.:

The Wineman Fire reached about 54 acres, according to a Cal Fire SLO tweet at 2:47 p.m.

The fire has been 75% contained, Cal Fire said.

Original story:

Highway 166 was closed east of Santa Maria on Sunday afternoon due to a vegetation fire that broke out near Wineman Road.

The Wineman Fire, as Cal Fire is calling it, had burned across 25 acres in grass and light brush on the south side of the highway as of 1 p.m., according to Cal Fire.

The wildfire, which broke out around 12:12 p.m. Sunday, had the potential to burn more than 100 acres, Cal Fire SLO tweeted.

Cal Fire crews in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties battled the Wineman Fire just two days after the Canyon Fire broke out along the highway.

The fire had a moderate rate of spread amid windy conditions, the agency said.

California Highway Patrol dispatch logs said the fire and its “heavy smoke” was close to the roadway.

The Wineman Fire spread into the Bull Canyon fire burn scar, which began on Friday, according to scanner traffic.

This story was originally published June 19, 2022 at 1:20 PM.