Jul 3, 2008 12:26 am US/Pacific
All Of Big Sur Now Evacuated As Wildfires Rage
BIG SUR (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
Authorities on Wednesday ordered most of the remaining residents of the scenic coastal community of Big Sur to leave after an out-of-control wildfire jumped a fire line and threatened more homes.
The weary fire crews battling that blaze and across northern and central California soon will get some help from the National Guard, the first time the troops have been called to ground-based firefighting duty since 1977.
Meanwhile, a new wildfire was spreading in Southern California. It too, like the blaze burning near Big Sur along the central coast, ignited in the Los Padres National Forest area.
Monterey County: Basin Complex Fire
The evacuation area for the Basin Complex Fire burning in the Los Padres National Forest increased northward Wednesday and now encompassed nearly the entire Big Sur community of 850 residents, emergency officials said.
"The fire is just a big raging animal right now," said Darby Marshall, spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.
Mandatory evacuation notices were issued Wednesday morning for an additional 10-mile stretch along the eastern side of coastal Highway 1, bringing the total length of the evacuated area to more than a 25-mile stretch of the coast.
"There is a mandatory evacuation for the east side of Highway 1 from Andrew Molera State Park to 1 mile south of Limekiln State Park,'' Marshall said.
An evacuation advisory, meaning residents should be prepared to evacuate at any time, was in place for the west side of Highway 1 from Andrew Molera State Park to the Nepenthe turnout.
The highway remained closed through much of the Big Sur region, blocking access to popular resorts, restaurants, shops and art galleries that line the scenic roadway and attract tourists from around the world.
Evacuation centers were set up at Carmel Middle School on the north end of Highway 1 and at Pacific Valley School.
As flames raged in the hills above and ash fell from orange skies, evacuees in packed cars streamed north along the highway, the only major road out of Big Sur. Sheriff's deputies told residents they needed to leave the area by late afternoon.
Janna Fournier, a Big Sur resident for eight years, was heading back to her house to retrieve artwork and rescue her pet tarantula.
"I feel sad for the wilderness and the people who lost their homes," Fournier said. "We chose to live in a wilderness among all this beauty, so I know there's that chance you always take."
The lightning-sparked Basin Complex Fire had destroyed 16 homes and scorched more than 52,000 acres since breaking out June 21. It was only 3 percent contained, according to fire officials.
Helicopters hauling large containers of water droned loudly overhead as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Paulison, visited Big Sur on Wednesday for a briefing on firefighting efforts in that hard-hit tourist region.
"This is a very dangerous fire right now because of the wind and because of how dry things are and how early in the year it is," Paulison said. He spoke from inside a staging-area tent, the wind roaring audibly outside.
Paulison watched as people made what he described as an orderly exit from the region Wednesday afternoon.
"The only saving grace is that this area is not heavily populated like we saw in Southern California last year," he said. "If people evacuate like they're told to, we shouldn't lose any lives... My only concern is that people don't take it seriously enough."
At Big Sur, the governor announced an executive order that waives replacement fees for birth certificates, drivers' licenses and other critical documents that fire victims may have lost in blazes.
The order also aims to accelerate debris removal and repair environmental damage by "cutting red tape," and asks state tax authorities to help victims file tax extensions and shield them from late fees.
Community meetings are being held nightly at 7 p.m. at the Big Sur Visitor Center for the Basin Complex Fire, which so far has cost $9.5 million to suppress.
Monterey County: Indians FireThe Indians Fire, also burning in the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County, had burned at least 81,378 acres and was 95 percent contained on Wednesday. It was expected to be completely contained by Thursday.
The fire caused the mandatory evacuation of cabins in the Santa Lucia Tract and a voluntary evacuation for residents on Arroyo Seco Road above Carmel Valley Road.
A fire evacuation advisory was also in effect for Carmel Valley Road from Arroyo Seco Road to Tassajara Road and for Tassajara Road south to the forest boundary and the Cachagua Road to Nason Road.
According to officials, the Indians Fire had injured 17 people, destroyed two structures and threatened 422 structures. It had cost $40.9 million so far to suppress.
Southern California Fire
Firefighters were standing guard to defend homes in the southern extension of the Los Padres National Forest as winds shifted Wednesday evening, pushing the 350-acre Gap Fire downhill and closer to canyon homes.
The flames crept dangerously close to about 30 homes nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the coast, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Eli Iskow said.
Salvador Ramirez, a construction worker from Goleta, said from the scene that the flames were about a mile north of the homes.
"The fire is really low on the hillside and there's spot fires everywhere. It's out of control," Ramirez, 39, said. "All day long you could hear fire trucks and helicopters going to the fire."
The area is subject to notorious "Sundowner" winds that blow down from the mountains toward the ocean. Winds were gusting at 30 mph at sunset Wednesday, Iskow said.
He indicated that the Gap Fire was "human caused" but did not elaborate.
Smoke from the blaze was visible throughout much of the South Coast throughout Wednesday afternoon, as the flames consumed chaparral that hadn't burned in at least 50 years.
About 150,000 Southern California Edison customers were without power shortly after 7 p.m. when thick smoke interrupted a transmission line near the fire, utility spokeswoman Lois Pitter Bruce said. Power was restored to about half of the affected customers about an hour later.
More than 350 firefighters were battling the blaze with the assistance of Ventura County, Los Angeles, and U.S. Forest Service fire departments, Iskow said.
"That's a sign that we've got nothing extra," Iskow said, referring to stretched resources. "All the departments in the state, across the entire West, are strapped."
He said 45 people were ordered to leave their homes late Tuesday and about 200 homes were potentially at risk in Glenn Annie and La Patera canyons.
The fire was burning around Goleta, a city of about 55,000 population, located about 8 miles northwest of Santa Barbara.
Mendocino County
There were 123 fires still burning in Mendocino County Wednesday, 40 of them not at all contained.
An evacuation warning was lifted Wednesday for the Greenfield subdivision/Orr Springs Road area near Ukiah.
The fires, ignited by lightning strikes June 21 and 22, had consumed 37,850 acres as of Wednesday, and the cost of fighting them reached $11.8 million. Thirteen people had been injured.
Cal Fire spokesperson Tracy Boudreaux said firefighting priorities were being shifted Wednesday. Firefighters were attempting to fully control fires that had been contained, and all immediate threats remained a top priority, she said.
Evacuation warnings remained in effect for several areas, including the communities of Rockport and Cummings and the town of Leggett.
Evacuations were lifted for the Chicken Ridge Webber subdivision, Navarro/Flynn Creek and Cherry Creek/Intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and Highway 162.
While weather conditions were favorable, the remaining fires continued to increase in size and threatened communities and critical infrastructure, Cal Fire said.
There were 1,557 firefighters battling the fires. The effort included 30 crews, 117 engines, 15 helicopters, 60 water tenders, 49 dozers one air tanker and one fixed-wing aircraft, Cal Fire said. Two homes were destroyed and 900 remained threatened.
Boudreaux said resources from outside the county were still arriving to help fight the fires.
Other Major Fires
In the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, crews struggled to contain a 8,200-acre blaze there. Powerful gusts and choking smoke traveling up the steep canyons hampered their progress, and residents of neighboring towns were ordered to evacuate.
Other fires still burning in the state have left residents in Shasta County under mandatory evacuation and residents in Butte and Kern counties under precautionary evacuation orders, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Raging wildfires from the western edge of the Sierra Nevada to coastal mountains have also created a smoky haze so stifling that some doctors in the San Joaquin Valley said their waiting rooms were crowding with patients struggling to breathe.
Nat'l Guard To Relieve Fire CrewsMilitary assistance in fighting the hundreds of wildfires still burning in California will soon increase with equipment and ground support, fire officials said.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has ordered 200 guardsmen to report for fire training to begin assisting on the fire lines early next week. The extra hands were expected to boost the nearly 19,000 personnel currently fighting the fires.
"I can't say enough about the brave men and women working tirelessly, and with little rest, to battle the blazes across California," the governor said. "I am announcing a big shot in the arm to their efforts by ordering California National Guard soldiers to provide direct ground support on the fires."
The National Guard will provide ground crews and bulldozers in addition to the National Guard air support already being used to fight the fires, the governor's office said.
"I think that they all are doing a great job, but the danger is that our firefighters get stretched thin," Schwarzenegger said. "A lot of them are working overtime, and they are staying up there for more than 12 hours, sometimes 24 hours, 36 hours. So we have to be very careful that they get enough sleep and they get enough rest."
Drought conditions, high temperatures and a series of lightning storms have contributed to about 680 square miles being scorched statewide by more than 1,400 separate fires in the past two weeks. The blazes have destroyed 60 homes and other buildings while threatening thousands more, according to Cal Fire.
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