Jul 4, 2008 9:07 pm US/Pacific
Wind Keeps California Wildfires Raging
BIG SUR (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
A pair of out-of-control wildfires roared along California's central coast Friday, chewing through opposite ends of a parched forest and threatening more than 4,500 homes hundreds of miles apart.
While flames from the stubborn fire in the northern flank of the Los Padres National Forest inched closer to Big Sur's historic vacation retreats, state emergency officials said hot winds had caused a newer blaze 200 miles south in Santa Barbara County to double in size.
The Los Padres blazes were two of 335 active wildfires —the latest of which erupted in Malibu— burning in California, down from a peak of roughly 1,700 fires a few days ago, but they were commanding the greatest share of equipment and personnel because of their locations near populated areas.
Big Sur FireIndependence Day is normally a booming time for tourism in Big Sur, with out-of-towners settling into cliffside vacation homes or trekking out to campgrounds nestled among the redwoods.
But this year, the only out-of-towners in Big Sur were firefighters working around the clock to save the storied community from flames.
Big Sur was eerily empty under a thick blanket of fog and smoke at the start of the long holiday weekend.
No more properties were lost since Thursday, but the density of the parched terrain allowed the 13-day-old Basin Complex Fire to keep advancing Friday on the town, where flames were making their way toward scenic Highway 1 and sending forest creatures running toward the Pacific Ocean for cover.
"It came down into the canyon last night. I couldn't sleep. It's still in there lurking about," said Kurt Mayer, who ignored the mandatory evacuation orders to douse his Big Sur Deli with fire-retardant gel. On Friday, crews with saws and wood chippers were making their way down Highway 1 removing branches in front of Mayer's oceanside store in case the fire jumped the road.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office Thursday evening extended the mandatory evacuations along state Highway 1 in Big Sur due to the fire to include the area between Palo Colorado Canyon Road and the town of Lucia.
The evacuation order now includes both sides of the 39-mile section of Highway 1 and all connector roads, the sheriff's office said.
Locals who feared for their homes and businesses also had to worry about lost revenue during peak season.
"I'm sure the season is just toast," said Mayer. "Usually the busiest time is July and August, so I'm sure it's just going to be zero."
The stubborn blaze, which has now burned more than 64,305 acres or 100 square miles, was just five percent contained Friday. Full containment was not expected until July 30, fire officials said.
The Basin Complex Fire, which started as two blazes that burned into one, ignited from dry lightning strikes.
At least 20 homes had been destroyed near Big Sur since the blaze broke out June 21. About 20 businesses and nearly 1,780 residences remained threatened.
Crews near state Highway 1 fought back flames from homes and historic landmarks, including the upscale Ventana Inn which was surrounded by crackling, burning brush. Several homes perched on a ridge about a quarter-mile from the inn fell victim to the fire.
Kirk Gafill, general manager of the nearby Nepenthe restaurant, said he and five employees were working feverishly to protect the cliffside business his grandparents built in 1949. Wearing dust masks, the crew scrambled to stamp out the dinner plate-sized embers dropping from the sky, he said.
"We know fire officials don't have the manpower to secure our properties," Gafill said. "Based on what we saw during Katrina and other disasters, we know we can only rely on ourselves and our neighbors."
The American Red Cross was operating a shelter for evacuees at Carmel Middle School at 4380 Carmel Valley Road, and residents in need of further emergency assistance were told to contact the Monterey County Department of Social and Employment services at 1281 Broadway St. in Seaside or by calling (831) 899-8001.
Alfredo Hurtado, 30, and his wife, Carmen Perez, 35, fled their rented home in Big Sur when they started seeing flames from the windows inside. Holed up at the shelter up the coast in Carmel, the couple said they were most concerned that the hotels where they worked as a cook and a clerk would be destroyed.
"I'm worried we'll go back and we won't have our jobs," Carmen Perez said. "I don't know what would happen then."
The highway in the evacuated area has been closed to traffic.
From the south, Highway 1 is closed at the town of Lucia, 23.5 miles south of Big Sur. From the north, the highway is closed at Palo Colorado Canyon Road, about 15.5 miles north of Big Sur, according to the California Department of Transportation. There was no estimated time of re-opening, and electronic signs were posted to advise motorists.
Crews made better progress at a separate 81,000-acre wildfire southeast of Big Sur. The Indians Fire, also in Los Padres National Forest, was about 95 percent contained Friday.
Goleta FireMeanwhile, a third wildfire in the southern extension of the Los Padres forest along California's Central Coast forced residents to evacuate the town of Goleta in Santa Barbara County.
Winds a day earlier caused the Gap Fire to double in size and race dangerously close to hundreds of homes in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Residents of more than 1,700 homes in and around Goleta were ordered to evacuate, joining an equal number of people who were told to leave Big Sur days earlier.
Goleta is a city of about 55,000 population and is 8 miles west of Santa Barbara.
Driven by wind gusts of up to 40 mph., the fire was so fierce Friday that firefighters at one point took shelter in about 70 homes they were trying to defend, said Capt. Eli Iskow of the county fire department.
The notorious ''sundowner'' winds pushed the wildfire to 5,400 acres the equivalent of more than eight square miles late Thursday and prompted authorities to deem it the top wildfire priority in the state.
The regionally famous winds, which are caused by the area's unique topography, are called ''sundowners'' by locals.
About a half-dozen outbuildings burned overnight, but the 1,072 firefighters on scene were able to save hundreds of homes from intense flames in the pre-dawn hours, said Iskow. No residents were killed or injured, although several firefighters suffered minor injuries, he said.
''It pushed it right up to the homes on the south side of the fires. Hundreds of firefighters were in place around hundreds of structures. It was an incredible, amazing job,'' he said. ''I think we saved every one of those structures in that area.''
The fire was only 10 percent contained Friday, with no estimate for full containment.
About 100 people took shelter at San Marcos High School, an evacuation center, said Janet Stanley, CEO American Red Cross Santa Barbara County chapter. The county health department was handing out free dust masks to residents to help with smoke inhalation.
Goleta resident Susan Ramirez said she and her husband and two children evacuated their duplex about two miles from the fire late Thursday as conditions deteriorated. They were staying with her parents, also in Goleta, and watching the smoke clouds.
''It was completely black and there was too much ash,'' she said of the family's flight. ''It was like we were under this huge, dark cloud and ... the ashes were just coming at you constantly. Our eyes were burning and we were trying to get out of there as fast as we could.''
Iskow said flames were pressing up against the boundaries of an area that burned in the 1990 Painted Cave fire, a blaze that burned about 550 homes, killed one person and charred more than 7 1/2 square miles. The brush above that area in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains hasn't burned in more than 50 years, he said.
''It is very, very steep area of brush above all these structures, the fuels in there are very, very old,'' he said. ''You've got tons and tons of dead, downed material that's several feet thick.''
Some 40,000 Southern California Edison customers lost power earlier in the fire, but spokeswoman Cathy Hart said all customers had power Friday.
Malibu Fire
A fire at a mobile home quickly spread to nearby brush by Malibu Creek State Park Friday, burning about 25 acres and prompting authorities to evacuate park visitors.
The fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. in a sparsely populated area and was nearly contained four hours later, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Darryl Jacobs said.
A man working on his mobile home sparked the blaze, Jacobs said without elaborating.
The fire at one point threatened a Hindu temple and the historic King Gillette ranch built in the 1920's for razor magnate King C. Gillette.
More than 200 people camping in the park were forced to leave, said National Park Service fire chief Kathy Kirkpatrick, noting that all campsites were at full capacity for the July Fourth weekend.
"Most of those people were packed into their cars and driven out quickly," Kirkpatrick said.
Several dozen people camping along Malibu Creek near the former set of the television series "MASH" were allowed to stay because the fire was blowing away from them.
About 125 firefighters aided by water-dropping helicopters battled the blaze under favorable wind conditions, Jacobs said.
Other Fires Along with the Malibu, Goleta and Big Sur fires, another blaze generating concern Friday was burning in the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, where a wind-driven wildfire had burned 25 square miles, destroyed one home and threatened 1,000 more in nearby communities.
Crews continued working to get a handle on a 14,000-acre blaze, which was about 15 percent contained Friday. Nearby residents remained under voluntary evacuation orders.
With firefighting resources stretched thin early in the fire season, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday ordered another 200 National Guard troop to report for firefighter training at a former Air Force base in Sacramento and then working a fire in Mendocino County early next week.
When they complete the training, they will join 200 National Guard soldiers who already were deployed to build fire lines. More than 19,000 people were working to control blazes throughout the state on Friday.
"These additional soldiers will bring much needed assistance to the efforts of the firefighters who continue to tirelessly battle the blazes across California," Schwarzenegger said.
On Thursday, officials reported California's first firefighter death this year, a volunteer who collapsed on the fire line in Mendocino County.
Robert Roland, 63, of Anderson Valley died at the hospital after collapsing a day earlier while battling a 550-acre blaze. The governor ordered flags at the state capitol to fly at half-staff in Roland's honor.
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