Gifford Fire nearly doubled in size Saturday. See latest on acreage, road closures
Update, 6:40 p.m.:
As the Gifford Fire continues, a temporary evacuation point has opened in Santa Maria on Saturday evening.
Benjamin Foxen Elementary School opened for evacuees affected by the fire in parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County, according to the SLO County Office of Emergency Services.
American Red Cross personnel are also on site at the elementary school located on 4949 Foxen Canyon Rd, Santa Maria, the SLO County Office of Emergency Services X post states.
For additional details on the Gifford Fire, visit ReadySLO.org.
Update, 4:10 p.m.:
The Gifford Fire in parts of both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties has continued to grow in acreage following the latest update from the SLO County Office of Emergency Services.
The fire grew to 30,519 and remains 5% contained as of late Saturday afternoon.
Highway 166 remains closed from Highway 101 to 33, the X post from SLO County Office of Emergency Services states.
For more details on the Gifford Fire, visit ReadySLO.org.
Update, 2 p.m.:
New evacuation orders have been issued in the area around the Gifford Fire, according to the SLO County Office of Emergency Services.
The new zones are: SLC-335 and 336 and LPF-018. They join LPFs 016, 017 and 019, as well as SLC-337, north of Highway 166, east of Cable Corral Road, south of Tajea Flats Road and west of Chimineas Road.
Evacuation warnings have also been issued for LPF-15 and SLC-297.
For more information, visit ReadySLO.org.
Update, 11:15 a.m.:
The Gifford Fire has nearly doubled in size since the most recent updated, now spanning roughly 23,588 acres burned, according to the Los Padres National Forest. Containment remained at 5%
The Forest Service said the fire was burning on both sides of Highway 166 and was “burning actively in thick brush and rugged terrain.”
An air quality alert was also issued for resident in the Cuyama area on Saturday morning, according to the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.
According to the National Weather Service, “seasonably elevated fire weather conditions” are expected across the Gifford Fire through weekend.
The agency said there was “large vertical plume growth” due to the hotter and drier conditions Saturday.
High temperatures were expected to range between 95 and 98 degrees, with minimum relative humidity in the teens, the Weather Service said. There will also likely be enhanced northwestern and northern winds at times, with gusts in the 15 to 25 mph range, the agency said.
Original story:
The Gifford Fire burning in southern San Luis Obispo County continued to grow overnight, reaching an estimated 12,786 acres as of Saturday morning, according to the county’s Office of Emergency Services.
The fire, which began as a series of grass fires along Highway 166, is burning just a few miles west of the western edge of the scar of the Madre Fire, which scorched more than 80,000 acres in July.
As of Saturday morning, Highway 166 remained closed from Highway 101 to Highway 33 in Kern County. The closure was expected to remain in place indefinitely, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Evacuation orders also remained in place for parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties near the fire. Those zones under orders are: LPFs 016, 017 and 019, as well as SLC337, north of Highway 166, east of Cable Corral Road, south of Tajea Flats Road and west of Chimineas Road, according to ReadySLO.org.
In its morning update, the Los Padres National Forest said it was working with Santa Barbara County Fire to manage the attack plan for battling the blaze throughout Saturday.
The agency said the fire “remained moderately active overnight.”
“The terrain and abundance of fuels have made suppression efforts challenging, but firefighters remain focused on a full-suppression strategy,” the update said.
People were urged to stay out of active fire areas and give plenty of room to firefighting vehicles on the roads “so that they can safely perform their duties to suppress these fires and so that you remain safe too.”
Cal Fire — which is assisting in the firefighting but is not the lead agency in charge of the incident — said the fire was roughly 5% contained as of 8:40 a.m.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
This story was originally published August 2, 2025 at 8:56 AM.
%20Cropped.jpg)