Madre Fire scorches more than 80,000 acres, now California's largest wildfire of 2025

By Mia MacGregor

July 8 - (The Insurer) - The Madre Fire, which ignited last week in California's San Luis Obispo County, has scorched 80,603 acres as of Tuesday morning, making it the largest wildfire recorded in the state this year.

The blaze broke out shortly after 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, along Highway 166 in New Cuyama. Initially estimated at 9,000 acres by fire air intelligence, it has rapidly spread east-northeast onto the Carrizo Plain.

As of Tuesday morning, the Madre Fire was 35% contained. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that 50 structures are currently threatened, and one structure has been destroyed.

Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for several small communities situated near State Route 166 as the fire advances.

This latest inferno comes amid the six-month anniversary of the devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires, which struck the Los Angeles area in early January. Industry estimates provided by reinsurers during their fourth-quarter earnings season pointed towards insured losses exceeding $40 billion related to those January wildfires.