California’s biggest wildfire of the year spreads to 28,000ha
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LOS ANGELES – A massive wildfire raging in California for the past three days has ravaged more than 28,330ha, as hundreds of firefighters fought to bring it under control.
The “Madre Fire” broke out on July 2 in San Luis Obispo, a rural county in the heart of the US state.
Around 200 people were ordered to evacuate, with dozens of buildings threatened by the flames.
The fire has engulfed 28,700ha since July 2, and more than 600 personnel and 40 fire engines have been deployed to contain it, Cal Fire, the state’s fire service, said in an update on July 4.
It is the largest blaze so far in 2025 in California, which was scarred by wildfires that destroyed swathes of Los Angeles at the start of the year.
This summer is the first since US President Donald Trump announced plans to gut federal agencies tasked with fighting climate disaster.
On July 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom said 15 new fires had ignited on federal land in the past 24 hours and called on Mr Trump to prioritise funding for firefighting resources.
“Trump needs to WAKE UP and start funding federal firefighters and land-management teams in these rural communities – instead of giving tax cuts to billionaires,” Mr Newsom, a Democrat, wrote on social media platform X.
“Trump’s incompetence is endangering lives.”
A separate statement from the governor’s press office said on July 4 that the Madre Fire “remains in a very isolated location – away from homes”.
It comes after several other blazes, raising fears of a difficult summer ahead for the state already traumatised by the wildfires that killed 30 people in January.
Southern California had an unusually dry winter and spring, and vegetation is already parched, University of California, Los Angeles extreme climate events specialist Daniel Swain has said.
Intense and widespread heat this summer, and dry brush, “will heavily factor into burning conditions later this season”, he added.
Since returning to the White House in January, Mr Trump has ordered budget and personnel cuts at the Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates disaster response.
On July 2, Mr Newsom accused Mr Trump of not funding enough wildfire prevention projects.
“We need an equivalent commitment of resources – not rhetoric,” Mr Newsom told reporters, noting that more than half of the land in California is under federal jurisdiction. AFP
