The effects of the fire were far-reaching, leaving many SLO residents worried about potential evacuation. Photo courtesy of senior Roslyn Risner.
California has had many fires in recent years, with one even happening at San Luis Obispo High School in 2023, but the ongoing Gifford Fire in Santa Maria quickly burned through thousands of acres in a manner of days, leaving many concerned for those living outside of SLO. This fire led to many in Santa Maria and Arroyo Grande having to evacuate their homes, but as of this morning, the fire is 91 percent contained and evacuation zones have been largely scaled back.
The fire began on August 1, the flames exploding on both sides of Highway 166 and rapidly burning 65 thousand acres in only three days. Since then it has only spread more, with almost 132 thousand acres being compromised.
“I was not concerned at first about the fire, but as the days passed and it wasn’t clearing up it became more concerning. While the actual burn zone never got too close to my house, due to the immense difficulties evacuation would pose for us, because of all of our large animals, the fire was quite worrying,” said senior Roslyn Risner.
In the past two months, 210 thousand acres have been blackened and destroyed due to both the Gifford Fire and the Madre Fire, the latter having burned for over three weeks in July. However, the “burn scar” left from the Madre Fire has actually proved helpful in preventing the recent fire from spreading even further east.
Despite this, the flames were still fueled due to the area’s strong winds and rich vegetation, making the Gifford Fire spread quickly in a short period of time.
“The wind and the conditions up there are pretty gnarly…some of our containment lines won’t hold, so the fire just continues to spread. We’re working very hard to come up with tactics so we can better fight this fire,” said public information officer Bert Fuiava.
To prevent the fire from spreading, teams worked to remove vegetation in the fire’s path while also using various flame retardants in an attempt to put out the fire. The containment levels have thankfully increased as a result of these efforts as well as favorable weather conditions.
As of now, firefighters are patrolling the area for safety concerns such as smouldering embers that are liable to reignite the fire. Other teams are also working on restoring the landscape that became unstabilized during the fire.
“Even though we were a safe distance from the fire, a lot of my family members who have respiratory issues were impacted, as well as people we know who had to evacuate really unexpectedly. I’m glad the fire’s under control and hope the rest of fire season isn’t as bad as past years,” said senior Ava Rhodes.
This is not the last fire SLO County will face, but for now, rest assured that the Gifford Fire is under control. For more fire safety updates, students can download Watch Duty to stay informed on incidents in the community.
Sources: noozhawk.com, sanluisobispo.com, kcbx.org
