A fast-growing wildfire ignited in Big Sur, burning more than 1,700 acres and spurring evacuation orders that encompass some of the area’s iconic destinations such as Nepenthe restaurant, the Henry Miller Memorial Library and the Alila Ventana resort.
The fire began Sunday morning in the Los Padres National Forest southeast of the neighborhood of Loma Vista and quickly scorched 400 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
By Monday afternoon it had more than quadrupled in size.
“Firefighters on the ground are experiencing some extremely steep and rugged terrain mixed with hot, dry temperatures and winds that are pretty variable,” said Cal Fire Battalian Chief Josh Silveira. The winds are “switching directions pretty regularly, so it’s definitely giving us challenges in getting the upper hand on this type of fire.”
Evacuation orders were issued, and then expanded, Monday as the fire continued to grow. A map of areas impacted by evacuation orders and warnings can be seen here.
Visitors staying in campgrounds and hotels were forced to flee the area. An evacuation shelter was opened at Carmel Middle School on Monday evening, and regional hotels are offering discounted rates to evacuees.
Many of the affected businesses have a long history in the region.
Nepenthe restaurant, known for its legendary clifftop views, has been in operation since 1949 and features a log cabin that is more than a century old. The Alila Ventana Big Sur resort is 51 years old, while the Post Ranch Inn sits on the former homestead of the Post pioneer family who settled in the region in the 1860s.
Pacific Coast Highway is currently closed to non-residents from Point Sur Lighthouse to Vista Point, according to the California Highway Patrol.
“The fire remains highly active, and conditions can change rapidly,” the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. “We are respectfully asking the public to stay out of the area. Roadways must remain clear so first responders can work safely and effectively.”
Cal Fire assumed command of the incident from the U.S. Forest Service at 4 p.m. Monday and is continuing to work with federal and regional resources to combat the blaze.
Although the fire remained dynamic Monday afternoon, it was not burning west toward where restaurants and hotels sit along PCH. It was most active on the eastern flank, moving uphill toward camping sites and a limited number of scattered homes, said Silveira.
“It’s still a rapidly emerging incident,” he said. “The wind has been relatively erratic, and as fire gets established in the drainages, fire intensity increases and starts to make pretty significant upslope runs.”
Drainages are natural low-lying areas of land that can gather hot air and smoke and then generate intense drafts that drive a fire uphill with dangerous speeds.
Around 300 firefighters were assigned to the incident Monday afternoon, a number that is expected to more than double this week.
“We’re relatively fortunate in that there were some other incidents in San Luis Obispo and Kern counties that had been wrapped up and we were able to get the resources that were being released off of those incidents and started moving them our way,” Silveira said.
The blaze was 5% contained Monday evening, with containment lines focused on the western edge of the fire nearest to PCH, he said. More than a dozen aerial assets, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, were assigned to the blaze, performing retardant and water drops.
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