The Gifford Fire has burned more than 122,000 acres in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, and it's still about 20 miles from Santa Margarita.

As the Gifford Fire enters its second week, the American Red Cross has opened a 24-hour evacuation shelter at New Life Student Center in Pismo Beach for residents displaced by the fire.

The ongoing Gifford Fire in eastern San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties continues to spread as containment increases.

San Luis Obispo County supervisors unanimously voted to approve a resolution that aims to bring more state and federal resources to the victims of the Gifford Fire. It’s called the Proclamation of Local Emergency and it allows the county to request funding within 60 days of the resolution’s passage.

As firefighters battle the massive Gifford Fire on California’s Central Coast, they’re not just putting out flames—they’re making split second decisions that affect lives. One of the tough decisions? When to shut down a highway.

Fire officials describe the fire as unpredictable because the topography in mountainous areas causes wind gusts to move erratically.

SLO County Supervisors has accepted a more than $300,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The funding drew public opposition over the department’s immigration enforcement policies.

As smoke from the Gifford Fire moves across the region, southern San Luis Obispo County may see an impact to air quality this week, according to San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District.

The Gifford Fire burning in the hills east of Santa Maria has now become California’s largest wildfire this year, surpassing the size of last month’s Madre Fire.

The Gifford Fire burning in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties has scorched 82,567 acres and is 7% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to Los Padres Fire. The Madre Fire burned approximately 80,779 acres and was fully contained by July 26, according to CalFire.