A massive wildfire tearing through California’s Los Padres national forest is threatening hundreds of homes, after injuring at least three people in days before.
The Gifford fire has already scorched more than 72,000 acres 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 threatened about 450 structures and 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 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 chapparral and brushland and running up very steep slopes.”
The causes of the fire are under investigation.
