Gifford Fire scorches more than 82,000 acres east of Santa Maria

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Less than a week after the Madre Fire was declared 100 percent contained, it was dethroned by the Gifford Fire as California’s largest wildfire of the year.

Both wildfires impacted several areas along Highway 166, prompting evacuation warnings and orders across different parts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

While the Madre Fire encompassed about 80,700 acres before it was deemed contained on July 26, the Gifford Fire has burned more than 82,000 acres since it began on Aug. 1.

The crossover between areas impacted by both fires resulted in a silver lining for firefighters at one border of the Gifford Fire, according to Don Fregulia, California Interagency Incident Management Team 5 operations section chief.

“Fortunately the Madre Fire’s helping us out quite a bit with containment here on the northeast side of the [Gifford] fire,” Fregulia said during an Aug. 5 virtual update from the incident management team.

Fregulia was referring to the eastern flank of the Gifford Fire, which the U.S. Forest Service described as “mostly stabilized, largely into the recent Madre Fire” in an Aug. 5 press release.

The northwest border of the Gifford Fire is a different story, Fregulia explained.

“As we move around to the northwest end of this fire, we’re having some challenges out there. The terrain’s extremely rugged. And access is a problem for us,” Fregulia said at the virtual update. “We know that there’s ranches. We know that there’s quite a bit of structures to the northwest end of this fire.”

The cause of the Gifford Fire—threatening more than 800 structures and 7 percent contained as of Aug. 5—remains under investigation. Ongoing firefighting efforts have included nearly 2,000 personnel, more than 100 fire engines, and dozens of dozers and aircrafts.

Since Aug. 2, volunteers from the Red Cross have manned a temporary evacuation point for anyone impacted by the Gifford Fire at Benjamin Foxen Elementary School, at 4949 Foxen Canyon Road near Sisquoc.

“It’s 11-hour shifts for us as long as we’re here,” volunteer Ray Houser said in front of his outdoor work station—a portable table lined with water bottles, cookies, and N95 masks in the middle of Foxen Elementary’s basketball court.

“We’re here primarily to provide information, … snacks, and drinks,” said Houser, who described the temporary evacuation point as a respite for evacuees and others impacted by Gifford Fire. The location hadn’t become an overnight shelter as of Aug. 5.

County officials and the Red Cross would likely identify an alternative spot where “we’d set up cots, … and get blankets and pillows,” if the need for a shelter comes up, Houser explained.

The elementary school is located on the southern cusp of one area of unincorporated Santa Barbara County that’s been issued an evacuation warning but not an evacuation order, as of Aug. 5. The warning advises residents of the area to be prepared to leave at any time, without mandating an evacuation.

Residents of Sisquoc and other parts of the Santa Maria Valley facing anxiety about the potential for a sudden shift between warning and order have been among the evacuation point’s visitors seeking clarity about the Gifford Fire. For real-time alerts, Houser recommends installing the Watch Duty app. 

“We’re basically able to give information that we have, or might be able to pass along to people if they have concerns about the fire or where it’s going, or how far it’s advanced,” said Houser, a nine-year volunteer with the Red Cross.

“After I retired, I was looking for an opportunity to give back and this was an opportunity to give back,” the Arroyo Grande resident said. “I stuck with it.” 

This article appears in Aug 7-17, 2025.