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BIG SUR (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Firefighters bolstered their defenses and dug in Friday for a long battle against flames that threatened coastal homes in the storied tourist town of Big Sur, while bracing for fresh lightning strikes that could ignite new fires across Northern California.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Bush to declare a state of emergency as nearly 1,100 fires were burning more than 400 square miles from the Central Coast to the Oregon border. That count excluded two gigantic blazes that have charred some 134 square miles in the Los Padres forest.
 
Schwarzenegger Seeks Fed Help

Schwarzenegger requested direct federal assistance in a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday, saying wildfires so far this season in California had burned 265,000 acres, or more than 400 square miles.

A federal emergency declaration would free up more resources that would include air and ground firefighting crews, debris removal and help evacuating and sheltering residents and animals.

The counties covered by his request for aid were Butte, Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Trinity.

At a news conference in Shasta County Friday, Schwarzenegger said, "It is clear that we need every tool possible when we fight these fires, because I think it's very unusual to have that many fires at one given time." 

U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., also joined the governor in asking the federal government for money to help fight the fires.

"This is a disaster of major scope and consequence," the senators wrote in a letter to President Bush.

Big Sur Fire

The fire closest to the legendary cliffs and funky getaways of Big Sur — now dubbed the Basin Complex Fire — was about a mile from Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park at the heart of the region, said Curtis Vincent, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest.

The Basin Complex came about from the merger of the Gallery and Basin fires into a single blaze. The massive lightning-sparked combined wildfire marched toward Big Sur as firefighters rushed to protect about 575 threatened homes and historic structures.

Early Friday, firefighters reinforced their fire lines near homes and businesses in the area, moving in heavy engines and more personnel, Vincent said. The blaze remained just 3 percent contained, but it was growing parallel to the coast - not toward inhabited areas, he said.

Low humidity did little to slow the flames overnight and temperatures were headed noticeably higher Friday than the day before.

"This is not going away anytime soon," added Mark Savage, a Forest Service spokesman.
  
The fire was expected to burn actively Friday at elevations above 2,000 feet. Steep mountain terrain, heavy fuels, limited access, drought conditions and dry, gusty winds have made fighting the fire difficult.

The combined blaze had burned nearly 42 square miles — about 26,765 acres — near the central coast. It has cost nearly $2 million to battle.

The fire had destroyed 16 homes and two outbuildings since breaking out about 1 p.m. last Saturday, and officials issued voluntary evacuation notices to residents in 75 homes along Partington Ridge threatened by the blaze.

Authorities closed a roughly 12-mile long stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway threatened by the blaze — between the Esalen Institute to the south and the Ventana Inn to the north — shutting off access to several lodges, restaurants and art galleries that depend on tourist traffic.

The Ventana Inn and Spa, and its Cielo restaurant, have been closed since managers were forced to evacuate guests and employees earlier in the week as the wildfire approached.

The upscale resort had not suffered damage though the fire burned within half a mile of the property but it had to cancel three weddings planned through the weekend. The restaurant, usually packed this time of year, has been serving meals to firefighters instead of tourists, said general manager Jonathan Farrington.

''It's had a significant impact," Farrington said. ''The (Big Sur) experience is certainly negatively impacted by the smoke and the conditions of the fire.'' 

The renowned Esalen Institute, a retreat known for its natural hot springs, did not appear immediately threatened, but it canceled workshops all the way through the July 4 weekend because of falling ash and poor air quality. Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park also remained closed.

Businesses that do remain open have seen a steep drop in tourist traffic as thick smoke obscures the iconic vistas, dealing an economic blow at the height of the summer season.

The Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant, less than half a mile from a roadblock, was operating -- but business is painfully slow. Most of the tourists dropping in were heading back north after running into the roadblock, said barista Angela Harp. 

''We're unfortunately sending away a lot of frustrated people,'' Harp said. ''Normally, this place is so packed. It would be bustling in here ... This is what it would be like in winter.''

The fire did force the closure of Nepenthe Restaurant, along with its cafe and crafts shop, which typically draw about 1,000 visitors a day during the summer, according to general manager Kirk Gafill, whose grandparents started the business in 1947.

Gafill estimates the business was losing more than $30,000 a day in revenue because of the blaze, which reached Nepenthe's property and destroyed several homes on a nearby ridge. The restaurant was set to reopen Friday night after officials moved the road closure area farther south.

''The impact is economically pretty devastating, but hopefully short in duration,'' said Gafill, who also heads the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce. ''We were having the best year on record until June 21 when the fire started. We're hoping we can get our momentum back as soon as possible.''

In the Big Sur region, the fire was driving away tourists who normally flock to the region to camp, hike or drive the coastal highway that hugs the steep, winding mountains above the Pacific Ocean.

Dutch tourists Truus Dolstra and her family had planned to drive the Big Sur coast on their way from Monterey to Pismo Beach in their rented RV when they ran into the roadblock on state Highway 1. They said they hadn't heard about the fire and didn't see the road closure signs along the way.

''We were driving and there was a sheriff who said, 'Stop,''' said Dolstra, who was traveling with her husband, teenage son and his friend. ''It's a shame because it's so beautiful here.''

Another set of Dutch travelers, Joost Ueberbach, 28, and Gemma Arts, 27, had wanted to drive through Big Sur on their way to Los Angeles from San Francisco in their rented Chevrolet Cobalt when they ran into the same highway roadblock.

"We knew there was a fire somewhere, but we didn't know the road was blocked," Ueberbach said. "We had hoped to see the nice views of the coastline. I guess it's just bad luck."

A popular area along the towering cliffs of the central California coast, Big Sur is also a destination for generations of American writers and artists.

Fire crews beat back flames that threatened a small roadside library named after "Tropic of Cancer" author Henry Miller, who lived in Big Sur for many years.

Just down the road, firefighters maintained fire lines and doused flames near the home of Hal Newell, who'd been forced to flee five days earlier.

"I feel real glad to still have a place to live," said Newell, who has lived in Big Sur since he was born in 1938.

The American Red Cross stood prepared to open an evacuation center in Carmel should further evacuations become necessary, officials said. The Monterey County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also planned to operate an emergency animal evacuation shelter for household pets adjacent to any Red Cross evacuation site.

Indians Fire In Monterey County

Another wildfire, the Indians Fire, about 20 miles east of Big Sur in Monterey County also continued to burn Friday. 

It has consumed about 59,700 acres since June 8 and fire crews were issuing voluntary evacuation advisories to possibly threatened residences.

Residents on Tassajara Road at Carmel Valley Road, especially those with livestock, were asked to prepare for the worst-case scenario, Vincent said. Getting ready to evacuate takes time, and even though it's voluntary now, preparation helps, he added.

Since the fire sparked in the Los Padres National Forest about 10 miles west of King City, it has spread largely within the Ventana Wilderness.

The fire was 71 percent contained and wasn't expected to be fully contained until sometime in July. The suppression costs of the fire have reached nearly $4 million and 14 firefighters have been injured to date.

The flames had destroyed two residences and 13 outbuildings so far. About 420 residences and 140 other structures were still threatened.

Other NorCal Fires, Smoky Skies

There were more than 30 other major fires burning in 16 counties across Northern California, while hundreds of smaller fires burned in remote areas.

Areas hardest hit include Butte County, where 31 fires have burned 17 square miles and threatened 1,200 homes; Mendocino County, where 121 fires have burned 42 square miles and threatened 900 homes; and Shasta-Trinity counties, where about 160 fires have burned 55 square miles and threatened 230 homes.

Smaller fires were also concentrated in Humboldt County, where although no people appeared immediately in jeopardy, there were homes scattered through burning forest areas.

Some 12,000 firefighters from 41 states were battling the blazes that have burned almost 250 square miles, darkening the skies and leaving a smoky haze over much of the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley.

Air pollution readings in Northern California and the Central Valley are two to 10 times the federal standard for clean air, said Dimitri Stanich, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board.

The number of Northern California fires topped 1,000, up from 800 two days ago, because smoky air had hampered efforts to track all the blazes.

"That's part of our problem - all of Northern California has been socked in for days, and aircraft haven't been able to see the ground," said Jason Kirchner, a Forest Service spokesman. It is firefighters on the ground who have provided most of the intelligence on new fires, he added.

More Lightning Forecast

Authorities put the firefighters on notice that they might be abruptly deployed to new fires expected to spring up with new lightning storms already under way.

"Our No. 1 priority is we want to stop any new, small fires," Kirchner said.

Last weekend, nearly 8,000 lightning strikes sparked about 800 fires across Northern California, burning at least 265,000 acres. There were about 70 lightning strikes Thursday in the southern Sierra Nevada, with increased lightning forecast, the National Weather Service predicted.

A chance of dry lightning in Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties in particular prompted the weather service to issue a fire weather watch for those areas through Saturday. 

"We think we might have the conditions that could lead to some thunderstorms, but we don't necessarily think it's imminent," weather service meteorologist Dan Gudgel said.

The threat of more fires has led some communities across Northern California to nix plans for Fourth of July fireworks displays.

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