Nearly triple digit temperatures on Wednesday posed near challengers for firefighters battling the ever growing Gifford Fire in Central California that has injured four people as it became the biggest blaze in the state so far this year.
More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. The massive fire has already burned over 80,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).
It surpassed the 126-square mile (326-square-kilometer) Madre Fire, which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state’s largest fire of 2025.
Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures in the mid-90s (35 Celsius) on Wednesday and above 100 (38 Celsius) on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department…