California’s Gaviota State Park Has Caught Fire — and Experts Issue Urgent Warning
Running for 33 miles along the west of Santa Barbara, the 2,700-acre Gaviota State Park is a collage of coastal bluffs, marine terraces, coastal sage scrubs, chaparral vegetative patches, coyote brush, and oak woodlands. In the patchwork of sawtooth goldenbrush and around the rims that encircle hot springs, mountain lions bask in the golden Sun. Equestrian trails and train trestles are bustling with campy visitors who arrive here for picnicking, snorkeling, fishing, and hiking. Yesterday, however, the park’s officials had to discharge the visitors all of a sudden at around 5:30 pm. Along Highway 101 north of Calle Mariposa Reina near the beach, an unanticipated eruption of flames charred up an enormous vegetative patch into rubble and ash, according to a report by KEYT.
According to the County Fire spokeswoman Karen Cruz-Orduna, the blaze was reported near the southbound highway lanes at Mariposa Reina. The blaze, he described, blackened about an acre before the forward progress of the flames. The forward progress, Santa Barbara County Fire, said, stopped by 7:08 pm. It grew from half an acre to a full acre, spreading slowly and eventually, swallowing up the entire region. As for now, evacuation orders have been given. Lane #2, meanwhile, will remain closed for the night. Firefighters are working on the scene to control the fires.
According to the National Weather Service, the probable cause behind the sudden breaking out of this blaze was the park’s breezy conditions. On Thursday, October 30, a dangerous combination of whipping Santa Ana winds and dense cloud cover overnight possibly influenced the fire behavior. These winds, typically noticed in Southern California, can significantly amplify the risk of fire and can propel its rapid spreading. Despite this hypothesis, the main cause of the fire remains under investigation.
As for today, Friday, October 31st, the agency predicts that the weather of Gaviota State Park will remain sunny with north winds barrelling around 5 miles per hour. At night, the sky will remain clear, with low-speed north-northwest wind hurtling at around 5 miles per hour, becoming calm in the evening. By the morning, the winds will start traveling towards south-southwest.
This is not the first time the park has encountered such a violent fire. In March 2022, the county reported that nearly 30 homes had to be evacuated near Alegria Canyon and Agua Caliente Canyon after a fire broke out in a region surrounding Gaviota, KSBY reported. At that time, fire controllers found themselves struggling with wind gusts of up to 35 to 45 miles per hour. The fire burned the region of Hollister Ranch, spewing large plumes of billowing smoke across the Lompoc area.
In August 2025, the Gifford Fire, which erupted near Northern Santa Barbara County, became one of the largest fires in California, CBS Texas reported. Essentially, the deadly comb of the park’s vegetation coupled with high temperatures and howling winds makes Gaviota a hotbed of wildfire. Officials have warned residents and visitors to remain cautious.
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