The Madre Fire, now the largest wildfire in California this year, expanded to 79,630 acres by Saturday, July 5, prompting expanded evacuation orders and worsening air quality across parts of

A fast-moving California wildfire exploded to become the state’s biggest of the year, forcing evacuations and the closure of a highway, and evoking memories of the devastating blazes that laid waste to parts of the state in January.

California’s largest wildfire of the year grew to an estimated 70,801 acres Friday, producing smoke that has affected millions of residents across the southern part of the state. The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County erupted early Wednesday afternoon near the small town of New Cuyama along Highway 166 on the Carrizo Plain,