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A massive wildfire on California’s central coast injured at least three people, evacuated hundreds, and burned about 40,000 acres as it continued to grow on Sunday.
The Gifford Fire, which broke out near 166 northeast of Santa Maria in the Los Padres National Forest Friday afternoon near Santa Maria, burned 39,676 acres, containing 5%, according to Cal Fire. The flames are burning near the 80,779-acre Madre Fire Scar, the state’s largest wildfire so far this year, threatening areas in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County.
Firefighters said the flames are currently threatening 360 homes. Over 560 staff have been assigned to the incident.
An injury has been reported
Authorities have confirmed at least three injuries so far, 5% have been fired. According to the Forest Service, one civilian was airlifted to a medical centre to treat a burn, and two contractor employees were hospitalized after the UTV rollover incident. One of the contractors suffered moderate injuries and was saved by Hoist, while the other was taken by ambulance due to minor injuries.
Those conditions were not immediately provided.
Evacuation and road closures
As of Sunday morning, San Luis Obispo County officials had issued a new evacuation order for zone LPF-015, located north of Highway 166. The alert came out at 10:20am, according to the county emergency services department.
Santa Barbara and SLO counties issued early evacuation orders and warnings in the next zone on Friday night. In total, 226 people have been evacuated so far, according to Cal Fire.
Evacuation orders: LPF-016, LPF-017, LPF-018, LPF-019, LPF-165, SLC-335, SLC-336, SLC-337, SBC-159A, SBC-161A, SBC163, SBC167.
Evacuation warning: LPF-015, SLC-297, and SBC-159B, SBC-161B, SBC-169-A, Santa Barbara County.
Highway 166 is closed between Highway 101 and the new Kuyama due to fire activity.
For the latest evacuation updates, residents can visit Readysbc.org (Santa Barbara County) and Emergencyslo.org (San Luis Obispo County).
View of the moon in air quality concerns from Gifford Fire. August 2025 (KNN)
Weather and fire outlook
The National Weather Service is expected to continue warm and dry from Sunday until night, with northwest to northeast winds increasing in the inner mountains of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where gusts can reach 20-35 miles. Strong winds of 25-45 mph are possible along the five interstate corridors and the Antelope Valley to the west.
The humidity level is expected to drop to 10-20%, creating short, serious fire weather conditions that can further cause fire growth.
Air quality alerts are enabled throughout the region due to smoke. On Saturday night, smoke from the fire changed the moon to a blurry orange colour on the Central Coast and parts of Southern California.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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