Evacuation orders lifted as containment on SLO County’s Madre Fire increases
All evacuation orders and warnings related to the Madre Fire were lifted on Wednesday at 6 p.m., the U.S. Forest Service said.
“Please continue to use caution when driving near the fire area as firefighters, equipment and crews are still working in the fire footprint,” the news release said.
The fire was 97% contained at 80,779 acres as of Wednesday at about 6:30 p.m., according to the Watch Duty app.
As of Thursday, the Carrizo Plain National Monument remained closed, and the Los Padres National Forest had closed the Rockford Ranch Recreation Area and the Gifford Trailhead, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Flemming Bertelsen said.
The blaze destroyed one outbuilding and damaged another structure, according to Cal Fire’s incident report.
Two firefighters were injured while on duty, but no residents had been harmed in the fire, Cal Fire said.
One firefighter was sent to the hospital by a spider bite from a black widow, and he was released from care three days later, Bertelsen said. The other was struck in the face by a tool while working on the fire line, he said. Bertlesen did not have any other information to share about the injuries.
The fire sparked near Highway 166 in New Cuyama in the afternoon of July 2, rapidly expanding to engulf 35,000 acres by that evening.
Westerly winds pushed the blaze uphill towards the Carrizo Plain National Monument, burning quickly through dry grass and shrubs lining the Highway 166 corridor. At one point, the Madre Fire was the largest fire burning in the nation.
Even though the evacuation orders were lifted, the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Operations Center urged nearby residents to continue to monitor the status of the fire.
Sign up for emergency alert notifications in San Luis Obispo County at emergencyslo.org, and in Santa Barbara County at readysbc.org.
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 9:42 AM.
