Update: Some evacuation orders and warnings downgraded as Gifford Fire improves
Crews continued to increase containment on the Gifford Fire on Friday as evacuation orders and warnings were scaled back.
Here’s the latest:
Evacuation orders and warnings downgraded in SLO County
Update, 2 p.m.:
The Los Padres National Forest downgraded evacuation orders and eliminated evacuation warnings for some areas of San Luis Obispo County after containment of the blaze improved overnight.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services, evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for zones SLC-259, SLC-260 and SLC-311. This change also applied to western portions of zones LPF-018, SLC-261, SLC-262 and SLC-297, as well as northern portions of zones LPF-011, LPF-014 and SLC-239.
The agency also shared that some zones had been released from evacuation warnings entirely, meaning residents of the specified areas could return to normal. These zones included: SLC-195, SLC-196, SLC-225, SLC-240, SLC-258, SLC-293, SLC-295, SLC-296, SLC-334 and SLC-335.
Original story:
Firefighters took major strides toward containing the Gifford Fire in San Luis Obispo County on Friday, thanks to increased overnight humidity and successful efforts to reduce the spread of the flames.
According to the Los Padres National Forest, containment on California’s largest fire jumped to 61% Friday morning — a significant change from Thursday morning’s 41% containment.
The fire had burned 132,605 acres as of Friday morning, an increase of only 216 acres from the day before.
The improvement in fire conditions comes after the agency reported that its backfiring operation was successful in stopping forward spread on the north side of the fire. The strategic firing was conducted earlier in the week to fortify containment lines near the Garcia Wilderness.
“All spot fires, started by hot embers crossing the fire line, were contained overnight within the planned contingency lines,” the Los Padres National Forest shared on Facebook on Thursday night. “Crews will work in the Garcia Wilderness over the next few days to extinguish hot spots in areas of concern. Water-dropping aircraft will be used as needed to eliminate these hotspots.”
On the south end of the blaze, firefighters were repairing damages and patrolling the area, the agency said.
“With the most challenging phase of fire operations now complete, overall staffing will be scaled back,” the agency wrote. “The surge in resources over the past week was critical to the firing operation’s success. Now, firefighters and equipment will be made available to respond to new emergencies elsewhere as they become available.”
Even with strong northeast winds overnight, the fire didn’t breach the containment lines, Friday’s update said.
The improvement in fire conditions also led to downgrades in evacuation orders and warnings.
According to the SLO County Office of Emergency Services, the zones under evacuation orders as of Friday morning included: LPF-009, LPF-010, LPF-011, LPF-012, LPF-013, LPF-014, LPF-015, LPF-016, LPF-018, SLC-193, SLC-194, SLC-221, SLC-222, SLC-223, SLC-224, SLC-239, SLC-259, SLC-260, SLC-261, SLC-262, SLC-263, SLC-297 and SLC-311.
The zones under evacuation warnings were: LPF-002, LPF-003 ,LPF-007, LPF-008, LPF-017, LPF-019, SLC-172, SLC-192, SLC-195, SLC-196, SLC-225, SLC-238, SLC-240, SLC-258, SLC-264, SLC-293, SLC-295, SLC-296, SLC-298, SLC-334, SLC-335, SLC-336 and SLC-337.
Friday morning’s report showed the fire had resulted in nine injuries and had destroyed five structures. Another 1,833 structures remained threatened.
As for weather, cooler temperatures and higher humidity were expected into the weekend, the agency said. Wind gusts were expected, but officials wrote that no significant impacts were expected.
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
.JPG)