This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. on July 7.
The Madre Fire burning along Highway 166 near New Cuyama has grown to over 80,600 acres, with containment at 35%, according to CalFire.
Los Padres National Forest spokesperson, Andrew Madsen said that the fire's rate-of-spread slowed down on Sunday allowing fire crews to build additional containment lines.
However, CalFire San Luis Obispo says they are expecting temperatures to reach triple digits this week, which could make the job harder for firefighters.
"The relative humidity is going to going to decrease, so that that's going to pose its own challenges just simply because it's going to be hotter, it's going to be dryer, said Cal Fire Public Information Officer, Kimberly Kaschalk. "And as long as the wind stays calm, we can manage that.”
Evacuation orders and warnings are in effect for San Luis Obispo County north of Highway 166.
Highway 166 is closed from US 101 in Santa Maria north to State Route 33 in Maricopa.
The blaze, which began Wednesday night, is now the largest California wildfire so far this year.
Fire officials say the fire was initially driven by a dangerous combination of high winds, dry brush, rugged terrain and ongoing drought conditions.
"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.”
The fire is being managed under a unified command involving Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Cal Fire San Luis Obispo, 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.
A temporary evacuation point has been established at the California Valley Community Services District on Soda Lake Road.
For evacuation zones, road closures, and emergency resources, residents are encouraged to visit ReadySLO.org or the Cal Fire incident page.
KCBX will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
