Calm winds overnight helped Gifford Fire crews build containment lines on the “rapidly-growing fire on the northern flank,” incident commanders said Wednesday morning.
The wildfire was reported at 91,250 acres and 9% containment, as of Wednesday night.
On Wednesday, the firefighting force grew to 2,988 people and a second fire base camp is opening in Santa Margarita to tackle the northern end of the blaze.
On the eastern flank, the fire has reached the burn scar of the recent Madre Fire and “there was no movement” overnight, according to incident command’s morning update.
“On the southern perimeter, a contingency line, two dozer blades wide, was completed to Schoolhouse Ridge,” they said.
There are crews doing structure and infrastructure defense in Schoolhouse Canyon, Cottonwood Canyon, and other areas in the wildland-urban interface.
Priorities for Wednesday will focus on improving containment lines on the northern flank, incident commanders said. They’re also preparing to do structure defense in the Huasna and Alamo Creek areas on the northwestern side of the fire, which is in San Luis Obispo County.
Crews expect hot, dry weather and dry vegetation, so fire activity is “anticipated to increase in all areas” in the next few days. Winds will gust up to 20 mph and Thursday could have local temperatures topping 100 degrees.
Conditions so far have allowed an aggressive aircraft attack on the blaze, said Dustan Mueller, incident commander of California Interagency Incident Management Team 5.
“Today was a very successful day for the fixed wing air program; we continually flew tankers for at least eight hours straight out of the Santa Maria tanker base,” Mueller said Tuesday night.
Dropping retardant helps give ground crews time to access rugged terrain and helps crews reinforce containment lines, he said.
The tanker base is only a 5-minute flight from the fire, said Don Fregulia, operations division chief for the Gifford Fire incident command.
The wildfire that began Friday afternoon about 15 miles northeast of Santa Maria is currently the largest blaze in California.
Highway 166 between the Central Coast and Cuyama Valley has been closed since Friday afternoon due to the fire.
Fire officials will host a community information meeting in New Cuyama Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Cuyama Valley Recreation District, 4885 Primero St.
The meeting will be recorded and posted on Los Padres National Forest social media pages afterward, organizers said.
Air Quality and Evacuation Information
An air quality watch is in effect for Santa Barbara County due to smoke and ash from the fire. Most areas have experienced good-to-moderate readings so far, although unhealthy levels were recorded in Cuyama over the weekend.
Check real-time air quality:
- AirNow Fire and Smoke Map including neighborhood-level monitoring station data and smoke plume
- Today’s Air Quality & Forecasts from Santa Barbara County APCD
Direct Relief is distributing N95 masks for free in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Montecito Wednesday afternoon in response to the Gifford Fire.
Evacuation orders are currently in effect for communities near the wildfire burn area in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
For more information on Santa Barbara County evacuation orders and warnings, go to ReadySBC.org.
For more information on San Luis Obispo County evacuation orders and warnings, go to ReadySLO.org.
Temporary evacuation points have been established at:
- Cuyama Valley Family Resource Center, 4689 Highway 166, New Cuyama
- Benjamin Foxen Elementary School, 4949 Foxen Canyon Road, Santa Maria
For large animal evacuations, the Santa Maria Rodeo Grounds is open with access via Gate 2. Those needing help transporting animals can call 805.681.4332.
Small domestic pets can be taken to County Animal Services shelters:
- 548 W Foster Road, Santa Maria (open until 6 p.m.)
- 1501 W Central Ave., Lompoc (open until 6 p.m.)
- 5473 Overpass Road, Goleta (open until 6 p.m.)
- 111 Commerce Dr., Buellton (open to 5 p.m.)
