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August 11, 2025 - Burn Scar of the Gifford Fire
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On the afternoon of August 1, 2025, four small spot fires were reported near a roadside about 15 miles southeast of Santa Maria, California. Dry vegetation, low humidity, strong winds, and high air temperatures set the scene for the rapid fire growth. By August 9, the original small fires had joined and grown into the largest fire in California in 2025 as well as a “mega fire”—a fire that has burnt at least 100,000 acres. And, despite the efforts of thousands of firefighters, the Gifford Fire was still growing.
By the evening of August 10, the Gifford Fire had reached 118,068 acres in size, destroyed 2 structures, and injured 3 civilians and 7 firefighters, according to CALFIRE. The efforts of more than 4,900 personnel brought containment to 33 percent on that afternoon, according to InciWeb. With more than 2,900 structures threatened by the fire, evacuation orders were in place for parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Several roads were closed as well as portions of the Los Padres National Forest.
Environmental conditions remained favorable for fire growth through August 10, with InciWeb reporting high temperatures in the low 90s at lower elevations while nearing 100°F (37.8°C) at high elevations. At the same time, humidity levels fell to single digits and low teens in the high elevations, with wind gusts up to 22 miles per hour (35.4 km/h). Hot, dry, and gusty conditions are expected to continue for at least the next day before any cooling arrives.
On August 6, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this false-color image of the large burn scar of the Gifford Fire. On this day, the fire had only burned across 82,933 acres. Although that’s a sizable amount, it was more than 35,000 acres smaller than the size reported on August 10.
In this image, vegetation appears bright green, water is blue, open land is tan, and clouds show up as white except in a few areas where the high, cold clouds contain ice crystals. In those spots, the clouds take on a light blue tint. A large brick-red area is the burn scar the Gifford Fire left on the landscape after it scorched the area. Two large orange areas on the northwestern edge of the burn scar mark areas where the fire was actively burning.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/6/2025
Resolutions:
1km (50.3 KB), 500m (105.9 KB), 250m (209 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On the afternoon of August 1, 2025, four small spot fires were reported near a roadside about 15 miles southeast of Santa Maria, California. Dry vegetation, low humidity, strong winds, and high air temperatures set the scene for the rapid fire growth. By August 9, the original small fires had joined and grown into the largest fire in California in 2025 as well as a “mega fire”—a fire that has burnt at least 100,000 acres. And, despite the efforts of thousands of firefighters, the Gifford Fire was still growing.
By the evening of August 10, the Gifford Fire had reached 118,068 acres in size, destroyed 2 structures, and injured 3 civilians and 7 firefighters, according to CALFIRE. The efforts of more than 4,900 personnel brought containment to 33 percent on that afternoon, according to InciWeb. With more than 2,900 structures threatened by the fire, evacuation orders were in place for parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Several roads were closed as well as portions of the Los Padres National Forest.
Environmental conditions remained favorable for fire growth through August 10, with InciWeb reporting high temperatures in the low 90s at lower elevations while nearing 100°F (37.8°C) at high elevations. At the same time, humidity levels fell to single digits and low teens in the high elevations, with wind gusts up to 22 miles per hour (35.4 km/h). Hot, dry, and gusty conditions are expected to continue for at least the next day before any cooling arrives.
On August 6, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this false-color image of the large burn scar of the Gifford Fire. On this day, the fire had only burned across 82,933 acres. Although that’s a sizable amount, it was more than 35,000 acres smaller than the size reported on August 10.
In this image, vegetation appears bright green, water is blue, open land is tan, and clouds show up as white except in a few areas where the high, cold clouds contain ice crystals. In those spots, the clouds take on a light blue tint. A large brick-red area is the burn scar the Gifford Fire left on the landscape after it scorched the area. Two large orange areas on the northwestern edge of the burn scar mark areas where the fire was actively burning.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/6/2025
Resolutions:
1km (50.3 KB), 500m (105.9 KB), 250m (209 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
