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Madre Fire, California’s biggest wildfire this year, had expanded to 79,630 acres by Saturday, July 5th, spurring an expansion of evacuation orders and deterioration in air quality in parts of Southern California.
As of Saturday morning, containment remained at 10%, officials said.
The fire ignited just after 1pm on Wednesday, July 2nd, along Highway 166 near Newkuyama in San Luis Obispo County. Pushed by strong winds, the flames quickly advanced east-northeast, and within days they advanced towards the Kariso plains, burning tens of thousands of acres of dry brush.
By Friday afternoon, smoke from the smoke had drifted south to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, prompting the South Coast Air Quality Control District to issue recommendations for areas such as Santa Clarita and the San Gabriel Valleys and the San Bernardino Mountains.
Combined with prolonged smoke from the July 4th fireworks, authorities warned that particle contamination levels could reach “unhealthy” or “dangerous” levels in most parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Air quality alerts issued across Southern California for smoke from fireworks and wildfires
In total, more than 608 firefighters were assigned to the incident. This is under a unified order with Los Padres National Forest, the Land Management Bureau, and the San Luis Obispo unit of Cal Fire. California Incident Management Team 8 took over the command on Friday at 7pm
Officials said the fires remained active as fire-driven driving promotes continuous growth along the southeastern edge. Isolated flare-ups and intense activity were reported along both the northwest and southeastern boundaries, but large pockets of scattered fire persisted within the burned area.
So far, one structure has been affected, leaving around 50 structures threatened. No injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Evacuation map for the Madre Fire. (Courtesy of Cal Fire)
Evacuation orders have been issued for the following zones:
LPF-017
SLC-226, SLC-240, SLC-263, SLC-264, SLC-265, SLC-298, SLC-299, SLC-300, SLC-312, SLC-313, SLC-337, SLC-338, SLC-339, SLC-3588
The evacuation warning is as follows:
SLC-225, SLC-239, SLC-266, SLC-301, SLC-359, SLC-365, SLC-366, SLC-367
KRN-245, KRN-249, KRN-259, KRN-281-B
Part of Santa Barbara County: East of the Rock Front Area, West of Cottonwood Canyon Road, South of Highway 166
A temporary shelter is being set up at the California Valley Community Services District facility at 13080 Soda Lake Road in Santa Margarita.
For more information about evacuation and warning zones, please check the CAL Fire website.
Health officials continue to urge residents in smoke-affected areas to limit exposure by staying indoors with windows and doors closed. South Coast AQMD also advised that they used air purifiers or air conditioners where possible to avoid indoor pollution sources such as perfumes, incense and grills.
For those who have to go outside, a properly worn N95 or P100 ventilator may provide limited protection against particulate matter.
The Madre Fire is one of several major wildfires burning across the state amid dry conditions and rising summer temperatures, which has escalated concerns about the outlook for California’s wildfire season.
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