SLO County wildfire grows to 52,500 acres, forcing more evacuations
A massive wildfire scorched 52,593 acres in the southeastern corner of San Luis Obispo County as of Friday morning, forcing the evacuation of more than 200 people north of Highway 166.
The Madre Fire was 10% contained as of Friday at 9 a.m., according to Cal Fire’s morning incident update.
The blaze, whose cause is still under investigation, threatened 50 structures and prompted the evacuation of 208 people as of Friday morning.
More than 600 people from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Cal Fire along with helicopters and other aircraft were collaborating to fight the blaze.
As of Friday morning, evacuation orders appeared to have been issued in 15 total zones in San Luis Obispo County, including LPF-017, SLC-226, SLC-240, SLC-263, SLC-264, SLC-265, SLC-298, SLC-299, SLC-300, SLC-312, SLC-313, SLC-337, SLC-338, SLC-339 and SLC-358 according to a Cal Fire evacuation map.
Evacuation warnings were in place for eight zones: SLC-239, SLC-225, SLC-266, SLC-301, SLC-359, SLC-365, SLC-366 and SLC-367.
Evacuation warnings were also issued in Kern County for zones KRN-245, KRN-249, KRN-259 and KRN-281-B, and in Santa Barbara County east of the Rock Front area, west of Cottonwood Canyon Road and south of Highway 166.
The Bureau of Land Management meanwhile closed the Carrizo Plain National Monument to the public on Thursday afternoon to protect the safety of both firefighters and the public.
Fire spread from Highway 166, stretching through Carrizo Plains
The fire was first reported on Wednesday at about 1 p.m. in eastern San Luis Obispo County near Highway 166, then quickly expanded through Thursday.
The Highway 166 corridor is lined with tall annual grasses, which dry out early in the summer — making them highly flammable.
The fire sparked in the grass and was pushed by westerly winds northeast down the corridor in alignment with steep terrain, causing the blaze to move quickly, Safechuck told The Tribune.
By Thursday morning, a finger of the fire had burned all the way to Soda Lake Road south of the Carrizo Plain National Monument’s visitor’s center.
A Cal Fire crew from Monterey County and bulldozers held an edge of the blaze at Panorama Road on Thursday morning. They worked to extinguish smoldering wooden fence posts and flaming grass.
Cal Fire in the meantime set up its incident command post at the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Grounds at 4040 Highway 101, Safechuck said.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
Wind-driven Madre Fire remained active overnight, Cal Fire says
According to Cal Fire’s Friday situation report, the fire remained active throughout the night, “displaying wind-driven runs and active fire behavior when topography and fuels align.”
It was burning primarily through grass, oak woodland and chaparral, according to the report.
Fire behavior was expected to be extreme through most of the weekend, according to Cal Fire’s report, with the primary concerns being the potential for “rapid uphill runs and wind-driven head fire spread.”
“The presence of dry, cured annual grasses will support high rates of spread with intense flame lengths,” the report said. “Alignment of slope and wind will further exacerbate fire behavior, creating challenging suppression conditions.”
Hot conditions were also expected to persist through Saturday, with low humidity and decreasing winds.
“High mixing heights will also continue the risk of plume dominated fire behavior, especially in the afternoon to early evening hours,” the Friday report said.
A total of 608 personnel were assigned to the blaze as of Friday morning.
Evacuation center set up in California Valley
The sky was hazy with smoke outside of the California Valley Community Services District Office at 13080 Soda Lake Road, which served as a temporary evacuation center for the fire.
The building was locked and empty as of 1 p.m., and two people sat outside at a picnic table, waiting to see if they could return home.
An American Red Cross van parked outside of the building, filled with water and snacks for evacuees.
Red Cross volunteer Jude Fledderman said it’s typical for evacuation centers in SLO County to look like a ghost town.
“In a county like ours with friendly people, people find other places to stay,” he said.
Four Cal Fire trucks pulled into the parking lot briefly at about 1 p.m. on their way to the command center.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Provence said they’d been deployed for 36 hours — first fighting the San Bernardino Lake Fire, and then the Madre Fire.
His team started on the Highway 166 side of the blaze for four to five hours on Wednesday, then moved to the Soda Lake side.
They worked near the Goodwin Learning Center through the night protecting structures and defending the control line.
When the wildfire approached the control line, which was made of roads and bulldozed soil, Provence’s team started a small fire to burn into the large one — pushing the blaze back and saving the Chimineas Ranch and the KCL Campground, he said.
Air quality alert issued for SLO County fire
Smoke from the Madre Fire impacted air quality throughout the region, particularly in the area of Cuyama, California Valley and Carrizo Plains, the Air Pollution Control District of San Luis Obispo County said Thursday at 10:50 a.m.
According to the release, the district and the county Public Health Department were working to asses the air quality “in order to identify any potential health impacts and to inform the community about safeguarding individual health.”
“Changing winds make it difficult to predict which areas of the county may be most affected, but there is a potential for impacts to spread beyond regions currently affected,” the release said.
Residents should expect hazy skies and fine particulate concentrations and ozone to be “higher than normal” through the weekend, the agency said. High levels of ash could also be present, according to the release.
District officials recommend that people take precautions to reduce exposure to smoke. According to the agency, adults and children who see ash or smell smoke should take the following steps:
- Head indoors and remain indoors, if possible.
- Avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
- Close all windows and doors that lead outside to prevent bringing additional smoke inside.
- Visit SLOCleanAir.org for tips on how to develop a Clean Air Room in your home, or how to make an emergency DIY indoor air purifier.
The precautions are especially important for sensitive groups like children, older adults and people with respiratory illness and heart conditions, the agency warned.
“Families with small children should be aware that even if adults in the household have no symptoms, children may experience symptoms due to their smaller body mass and developing lungs,” the release said.
Those who experience a cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, exhaustion, light-headedness or chest pain, should stop any outdoor activity and seek immediate medical attention, the agency said.
People should avoid cleaning ash from cars and other items until conditions improve, the release said.
More information can be found at slocleanair.org/air-quality/wildfire.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 9:18 AM.
