Update July 26, 10:41 a.m.: The Madre fire covered 80,786 Acres. It is fully contained according to Cal Fire.
Update July 18, 12:48 p.m.: The Madre fire covered 80,779 Acres. It is currently 97% contained according to Cal Fire.
Update July 8, 5:42 p.m.: The Madre Fire is covering 80,610 acres. It is currently 62% contained according to Cal Fire.
Update July 6, 4:43 p.m.: The Madre Fire is covering 80,248 acres. It is currently 30% contained according to Cal Fire.
Update July 4, 4:29 p.m.: The Madre Fire was covering about 70,800 acres by Friday morning. It is currently 10% contained according to Cal Fire.
In a year of historic wildfires, the Madre Fire is now the largest in California, burning over 52,000 acres in San Luis Obispo County.
The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in a remote, brush-heavy area near the border of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Fueled by dry grass and wind, it spread quickly overnight, swelling from a few hundred acres to over 52,600 acres by Thursday afternoon.
As of Thursday night, the blaze was only 10% contained, according to Cal Fire, with 50 structures threatened and more than 200 residents evacuated. No structural damage has been reported so far, and the cause remains under investigation.
Currently, just under 600 personnel are on the scene battling the fire.
Affected Areas
The Madre Fire has engulfed large portions of remote terrain in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, including grassy hills, ranchlands and sections of the Carrizo Plains Ecological Reserve.
The reserve is home to native wildlife, including the tule elk, and serves as a critical habitat for threatened plant and wildlife species.
WATCH MORE ABOUT THE CARRIZO PLAIN: In the Field: Cal Poly Field-Geology students explore stratigraphy of Carrizo Plain
Smoke continues to drift into neighboring regions, with visibility and air quality fluctuating based on wind patterns.
Will the fire affect the campus area?
Prior to the Madre Fire, the most significant wildfire event in San Luis Obispo was the Lizzie Fire, which broke out on Oct. 30, 2023, behind San Luis Obispo High School and near Cal Poly’s agricultural lands.
More than 300 personnel were on scene at the peak of efforts to extinguish the fire, which burned 124 acres. Students were temporarily asked to take precautions due to its proximity to campus.
READ MORE: Fires break out across San Luis Obispo near SLO High School and Cal Poly
Although the Madre Fire is burning more than 60 miles from campus, its effects may still be felt.
Shifting smoke is already affecting northern San Luis Obispo County, causing air conditions to be moderate to unhealthy. Shifting wind patterns could push smoke south, potentially reducing air quality across the county.
The California Air Resources Board advises the following steps for those experiencing effects of the blaze.
Here’s how to prepare:
- Check real-time air quality at www.airnow.gov or the Weather app.
- Keep windows and doors closed and use air conditioning on recirculation.
- Use an N95 mask if air quality levels are poor or hazardous.
On the heels of one of the most destructive and expensive wildfire seasons in state history, and California’s hot weather still on the horizon, the risk of large-scale destructive wildfires remains high.
Rapid development of the Madre Fire
According to the Santa Barbara County Fire Public Information Officer Capt. Scott Safechuck, the blaze gained momentum early due to dry, overgrown grass and strong winds in the area, aligning the flames along the Highway 166 corridor.
“Yesterday, when the fire started, it was burning in tall, dried annual grasses and was in alignment with the wind and terrain,” Safechuck said to KSBY News Thursday afternoon. The fire’s path pushed it into rigorous terrain, making it hard for ground personnel to combat. “We brought in air tankers and fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft to combat that fire,” he added.
Safechuck is hopeful the weather will slow the spread of the fire. While gusts of up to 20 miles per hour are still expected at ridge tops, winds are not projected to be as strong as they were on Wednesday. Additional firefighting crews and resources are on the way from across California, according to Safechuk.
Fire Hazard reclassification
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.
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.
READ HERE: San Luis Obispo faces increased fire risk in proposed hazard map
The area affected by the Madre Fire was reclassified from ‘High’ on the 2007 State Responsibility map to ‘Very High.’