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Fire burns hundreds of acres along Highway 166

August 22, 2026

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A fire that started Saturday morning is burning along Highway 166 south of the Carrizo Plain. The blaze, dubbed the Carrizo Fire, has burned 268 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Shortly after 11 a.m., a caller reported the fire burning along Highway 166 near Caliente Mountain Trail in San Luis Obispo County. The fire has the potential to reach 1,000 acres in size, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. 

The blaze is burning on both sides of the highway. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation warning for the area north of Highway 166 between Spanish Ranch and Cottonwood Road near New Cuyama.

Firefighters are battling the blaze from both the ground and the air. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 


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2 Comments

Pretty sure there is no investigation since it was very obvious to all that it started from a car catching on fire and pulling over onto the side of the road into the grass. There are videos of it in the Cuyama Strong facebook group from multiple people.


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It will probably take a couple months of investigation and hundreds of hours to determine the official cause.


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