80,000-acre Madre Fire now more than 60% contained in SLO County
Firefighters have contained more than half of the Madre Fire that has burned through a swath of more than 80,000 acres of San Luis Obispo County grassland over the last week.
Firefighter teams from Cal Fire and across San Luis Obispo County had ontained 62% of the fire as of noon on Wednesday, according to a post on X from Cal Fire.
The fire’s growth plateaued over the holiday weekend and remained steady at around 80,610 acres as of Wednesday afternoon — an increase of around 300 acres since Sunday, according to emergency services app Watch Duty.
According to Watch Duty, Wednesday’s firefighting efforts will reinforce containment lines along the west and northwest boundaries of the fire, aiming to keep the chance of reignition low on a dry day with temperatures that are expected to reach the mid-90s.
The southeast side of the fire continues to be an issue for firefighters due to steep and rugged terrain, requiring crews to be transported by air to the scene of the fire each day, according to Watch Duty.
Crews are still working to complete mop-up operations along the Highway 166 corridor, and aerial resources are expected to stay engaged at the scene of the fire, weather permitting, according to Watch Duty. The highway reopened on Tuesday evening.
Also Tuesday, a firefighter was injured fighting the flames, though no residents have been harmed in the past week.
Evacuation orders remain in place in the following zones:
- LPF-017
- SLC-240
- SLC-263
- SLC-264
- SLC-298
- SLC-299
- SLC-312
- SLC-337
- SLC-338
- SLC-358
Evacuation warnings are still in place in the following areas:
- SLC-226
- SLC-265
- SLC-300
- SLC-313
- SLC-339
