Massive central California wildfire keeps growing and becomes state's
largest blaze of the year
[August 07, 2025]
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Rising temperatures on
Wednesday posed new challenges for firefighters who have made
incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California
that injured four people as it became the biggest blaze in the state so
far this year.
More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of
Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which
grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days.
The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles (339 square kilometers)
of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment.
It surpassed the 126-square mile (326-square-kilometer) Madre Fire,
which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the
state's largest fire of 2025.
Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with
temperatures in the mid-90s (35 Celsius) on Wednesday and above 100 (38
Celsius) on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with the Santa Barbara
County Fire Department.
“We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,” Safechuck said
Wednesday. “So we expect extreme fire behavior.” Luckily, winds are
expected to remain relatively calm, he said.
Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland
California as the heat wave intensifies. The southern part of the state
has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it “ripe to
burn,” the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a
statement. Triple-digit temperatures (around 38 Celsius) are forecast
for the Sacramento Valley.
A dozen major blazes are burning statewide, and officials warn the
threat will only grow in August and September, typically the most
dangerous months for wildfires. Across the Sierra and northern parts of
California, months of little to no rain are “pushing conditions toward
critical levels faster than usual,” according to a wildfire forecast by
the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
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Smoke from the Gifford Fire fills the sky as the sun sets over Los
Padres National Forest, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP
Photo/Noah Berger)
“In Southern California, the threat is driven by persistent drought,
high grass loads, and weakening coastal moisture,” Cal Fire said.
More than 2,200 personnel are battling the Gifford Fire, which grew
out of at least four smaller fires that erupted Friday along State
Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria,
a city of about 110,000 people. The causes of the fires are under
investigation.
Flames are racing through a vast, mostly unpopulated region that
includes forestland, ranches, large canyon properties and
agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries.
The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that
could affect much of southwest California.
Officials reported four injuries, including a firefighter who was
treated for dehydration. Over the weekend, a motorist was
hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and
being overrun by flames. And two contract employees assisting
firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle
overturned.
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