A huge wildfire tearing through California’s Los Padres national forest is threatening hundreds of homes and structures, after injuring at least three people in the days before.
The Gifford fire has already scorched more than 72,000 acres (29,000 hectares) in coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, north of Los Angeles, and was still burning out of control on Tuesday morning, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection, known as Cal Fire. It is 7% contained.
A motorist was hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames, said Flemming Bertelson, a spokesperson for the US Forest Service. Two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.
The blaze is threatening more than 800 structures and has forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people in Santa Barbara county.
Evacuation orders were in effect in parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Ranchers evacuated cattle as aircraft made water drops on the encroaching flames.
The blaze grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted on Friday along State Route 166 between Santa Maria and Bakersfield.
“That gave us multiple fronts, and the flames started fanning out in many directions,” Bertelson said. “The fire is gobbling up chaparral and brushland and running up very steep slopes.”
More than 1,900 personnel are battling the blaze. Firefighters made great progress on the west, north and east flanks of the fire and significant efforts were made to ensure structure protection on the south end, officials said in an update on Monday evening.
Officials said they expected more helicopters to be able to deliver significant water drops on Tuesday with a drone doing reconnaissance.
But officials cautioned dangerous conditions were ahead. A warming and drying trend was expected from Wednesday through the weekend, with temperatures up to 90F to 100F (32C to 38C) on Thursday and Friday. The drought and heat were expected to increase fire behavior, officials said.
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office has warned that the fire is generating considerable smoke, with smoke expected to move toward the south and east.
The causes of the fire are under investigation.
