Update August 16, 7:50 p.m.: The Gifford Fire has grown to 132,605 acres and is at 77% containment, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Fire crews will be reassigned to other incidents, whilst sufficient crews will ensure full containment. Cool temperatures and higher humidity levels will aid firefighters in achieving additional containment over the weekend.
Update August 13, 8:00 a.m.: The Gifford Fire has grown to 125,272 acres. Containment has grown to 37%, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Firing operations will continue, leading to increased smoke in the area.
Update August 11, 8:00 p.m.: The Gifford Fire has burned 120,779 acres and remains 33% contained, according to Nathan Judy, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Forest Service, during the Gifford Fire community meeting. Over 4,800 fire personnel are fighting the blaze. On Monday, the most active area is the northern edge in the Garcia Wilderness, where heavy fuels, rigid terrain and no recent fire history have made suppression challenging. Crews are preparing for a large backburn to set up an edge when conditions allow, while the southern and eastern flanks are holding with help from the recent Madre Fire burn scar.
Hot, dry weather is expected through Wednesday, followed by cooler, more humid conditions later in the week. Officials said some evacuation orders have been downgraded to warnings, while new ones have been issued in northern zones, towards the city of San Luis Obispo, which is about 20 miles from the fire’s edge, is not under immediate threat.
Update August 8, 7:00 a.m.: The Gifford Fire has grown to 99,232 acres. Containment remains at 15%, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The blaze is 800 acres away from being considered a megafire, a fire burning over 100,000 acres
The Gifford Fire, fueled by warm and dry conditions, has grown to almost 40,000 acres in Los Padres National Forest after igniting on Friday afternoon near the border of San Luis Obispo County, according to the U.S. Forest Service. It’s 5% contained as of Sunday evening.
Overnight, the blaze surpassed January’s Palisades fire in size, making it the second‑largest wildfire in California this year. It began along Highway 166 west of Cayama, about 30 miles east of Santa Maria, and has spread through tall, dry grass and chaparral across steep hills and mountains in the Los Padres National Forest.
In a Saturday night press release, officials reported that three people have been injured. One civilian suffered burn injuries, and two contractors were hurt in a Utility Task Vehicle rollover accident.
As of Sunday evening, the blaze has prompted the evacuation of 226 people and 60 structures remain threatened.
The Gifford Fire is west of the Madre Fire, which burned nearly 81,000 acres and was fully contained on July 26 after peaking with more than 1,400 firefighting personnel.
Read here: Madre Fire: California’s largest blaze in 2025 burns over 80,000 acres in San Luis Obispo County
The conditions fueling the Gifford Fire are nearly identical to those that drove the explosive growth of last month’s Madre Fire. Crews are working in hot, dry weather with temperatures in the mid‑90s, humidity levels between 10% and 20% and northwest winds gusting 15 to 25 mph.
According to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, the Gifford Fire is expected to keep expanding through the night. Forecasters warned that very warm, dry conditions could produce large vertical plume growth, with northwest winds gusting 15 to 25 mph this afternoon before shifting to the north‑northeast overnight.
Roughly 561 personnel are battling the fire. While it is under federal jurisdiction, Cal Fire has joined the firefighting efforts.
2025 Wildfires
California has recorded 4,759 wildfires so far this year, burning nearly 228,000 acres, almost triple the acreage lost by this point in 2024, according to Cal Fire. The total also far exceeds the state’s five‑year average of over 125,000 acres.
This year’s most destructive period came in January, when a series of wind‑driven fires in Southern California destroyed more than 18,000 structures, killed at least 30 people and scorched 57,000 acres. Those included the Eaton and Palisades fires, among the most expensive in state history.
On June 17, the City of San Luis Obispo adopted updated Fire Hazard Severity Zones following Cal Fire’s updated Fire Hazard Severity Zones across the state. The updated map identifies more areas in the county as ‘Very High,’ ‘High’ or ‘Moderate’ hazard zones compared to the previous version of the map in 2011.
READ HERE: San Luis Obispo faces increased fire risk in proposed hazard map
The reclassification across the state is intended to increase city planning and boost fire prevention efforts. In developing the new map, the updated model considered wind patterns and frequent high temperatures, which can intensify ember spread, according to past Mustang News coverage.
The area affected by the Gifford Fire was reclassified from High on the 2007 State Responsibility map to ‘Very High.’
Newsom Links Mismanagement to Trump
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office clarified in a post on X that the fire was not on state land.
“The #GiffordFire started on Trump’s federally managed land in the Los Padres NATIONAL Forest,” they wrote. “While Trump just gutted wildfire funding, @CAL_FIRE is now stepping in to clean up what federal mismanagement helped fuel.”
Newsom’s office has criticized federal wildfire policy, pointing to what they call chronic underfunding of prevention, staffing and equipment on federally managed lands. The Trump administration reduced funding for public land agencies, including staff at the Los Padres National Forest.
According to the Center for American Progress, Trump’s 2026 budget proposal would cut U.S. Forest Service staffing by more than 9,000 positions nationwide.
During the January Los Angeles area wildfires, Trump accused Newsom of failing to secure adequate water supplies for firefighting, claiming he prioritized environmental protections over public safety. Newsom’s office called those allegations “pure fiction.”
The two have clashed on far more than wildfire policy. In June, Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to assist ICE in immigration raids/protests, prompting Newsom to sue the federal government and accuse him of abusing federal power.
Trump has threatened to withhold disaster relief unless California passes voter ID laws, while Newsom has denounced tying recovery funds to political demands.
They have also sparred over environmental regulations, housing policy, redistricting, and LGBTQ rights. Trump has criticized California’s strict environmental laws and sanctuary policies.
This is an ongoing story. Check back on this page for more updates.