Madre Fire grows to 80,000 acres, becomes California’s largest wildfire of 2025
The Madre Fire began Wednesday afternoon in a remote section of the Los Padres National Forest (Photo credit: U.S. Forest Service - Los Padres National Forest)
A fast-moving wildfire in California’s San Luis Obispo County exploded in size over the holiday weekend and has now burned more than 80,000 acres, making it the state’s largest wildfire so far this year.
The Madre Fire began last Wednesday afternoon in a remote section of the Los Padres National Forest. As of Monday morning, the blaze was 30% contained, according to Cal Fire. No structures have been reported damaged, and the cause remains under investigation.
Roughly 190 residents were under evacuation orders early Friday. A section of Route 166 has been closed, and smoke from the fire has triggered air quality alerts in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Satellite imagery showed a thick plume of smoke drifting south toward the coast, while videos posted by the U.S. Forest Service captured intense flames and smoke-filled skies.
The Madre Fire comes during a year already marked by destructive wildfire activity in California. Earlier in 2025, the Palisades Fire scorched over 23,000 acres and became the third-most destructive wildfire in state history. The Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres, ranks as the second-most destructive and the fifth-deadliest on record.
With extreme heat forecast across the region and firefighting resources stretched by budget cuts, California is facing the growing threat of a difficult wildfire season.
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