Fire officials said the blaze slowed on Wednesday, but cautioned that fire suppression teams are not out of the woods yet.
Cpt. Scott Safechuck, with Santa Barbara County Fire Department, describes the fire as unpredictable because the topography in mountainous areas causes wind gusts to move erratically.
“If we get explosive fire behavior, the fire can continue to grow in all directions,” said Safechuck. “So, we don't want the public to think, because it's only grown a couple of thousand acres in the last 24 hours, that the containment values are going to go up. We need to be realistic about our approach.”
Safechuck reminded residents that an evacuation order means the time to go is now, and they should leave the area immediately. He also warned that people trying to protect a home on their own puts both residents and firefighters in danger.
“People think they can defend their house with a garden hose and many times the water system can go down, ” said Safechuck.
The Gifford Fire has burned over 96,000 acres according to Los Padres National Forest, making it the largest fire in California this year.
The fire is 15% contained, and evacuation orders have climbed to 22 zones in parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties as of publication on August 7.
Nearly 3,000 personnel have been assigned to the fire with many of them coming from outside the region.
