Update: The Madre Fire has reached 10% containment as of 8 p.m. Thursday.
The Madre Fire burning along Highway 166 near New Cuyama has exploded in size, scorching more than 52,000 acres as of Thursday afternoon, according to CalFire. The blaze is just 5% contained and has prompted evacuation orders for more than 200 people, with at least 50 structures under threat.
The fire, which has now become the largest wildfire in California so far this year, is being fueled by a dangerous combination of drought conditions, dry brush, high winds and rugged terrain.
"The rural area, the alignment of the wind with the fuel and the topography allowed it to run easterly along the highway 166 corridor," said Santa Barbara County Fire Captain Scott Safechuck, a public information officer on the scene. "We have been in a drought and those annual grasses have been drying out over the last couple weeks. So it's really allowed for this fire to take off.”
CalFire's Christy Steele, whose based at the incident command post in Santa Maria said firefighters are working under a unified command that includes the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, CalFire SLO and the San Luis Obispo County All Hazards Incident Management Team.
"Our control objectives are to keep the fire north of Highway 166, keep the fire south and west of Elk Horn Ridge Road, and to keep the fire east of Gifford Ranch Road," Steele said.
Evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect, and residents in affected areas are being directed to a temporary evacuation center at the California Valley Community Services District, located at Soda Lake Road.
Officials urge the public to stay off Highway 166, which remains closed and to monitor updates from the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services.
For the latest updates, visit CalFire's Incident Page or follow local emergency alerts. If you live near the fire, visit the Emergency SLO webpage for details on evacuations.
