FLAMES LICK HIGHWAY 1

A burned tree is felled onto Highway 1 north of Capt. Cooper School on... (ORVILLE MYERS/The Herald)

Basin Complex Fire: Crews put up a fight to protect Big Sur village
By CLAUDIA MELÉNDEZ SALINAS
Herald Salinas Bureau
Article Last Updated: 07/05/2008 01:36:21 AM PDT


The Basin Complex Fire continued to burn its way downhill toward Big Sur village, threatening 20 businesses and nearly 1,800 homes in the rugged mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

A firefighter knocks down flames along the highway. (ORVILLE MYERS/The Herald)

"There have been no commercial properties lost: no restaurants, no establishments," said Curtis Vincent, a spokesman for Los Padres National Forest. "That has a lot of people concerned."

Although the fire grew minimally overnight, during the day it spread to more than 3,000 acres. In the past 24 hours, the blaze grew by nearly 5,000 acres to 68,712. An estimated 1,795 firefighters are battling the blaze, with many of them clearing brush and sawing trees along Highway 1 to prevent the flames from jumping across.

In spite of a mandatory evacuation order, many business owners remained in their properties, foaming the outside of the structures to protect them from the flames.

The highway remains closed from Palo Colorado Canyon Road to Limekiln State Park. All state parks in the affected area are closed to the public, including Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Residents and businesses in the towns of Big Sur and Lucia are under an evacuation order.

Friday's weather didn't help the firefighting efforts, and with a power outage that affected the Big Sur camp, some feared the water pumps would stop working.

"The weather expanded (the fire) a bit in different areas," Vincent said. The blaze "is kind of coming down the ridge, in some places is right around some structures, and on the north side is heading across the highway."

A front entrance gate and fireplace are all that is left of a home on... (ORVILLE MYERS/The Herald)

An advisory evacuation is in effect for residents in Palo Colorado Canyon from Highway 1 to the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp, although structure protection teams have set up a sprinkler system. The fire has not spread into the camp.

There are no immediate plans to evacuate Palo Colorado, but fire officials expect to provide a 24-hour notice should the need to evacuate arise. Briefings are being provided daily at 7 p.m. at Carmel Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road.

The fire is expected to grow toward the south overnight, with winds blowing from the north and northwest.

"It's a very active fire, so with the wind from that direction it pushes the fires toward the south end near the Dolan Ridge in the Limekiln area," Vincent said. "Any growth in the fire should be that way, not toward Cachagua."

The fire is expected to be contained by July 30.

Persons affected by the Basin Fire who may be in need of emergency assistance, such as food stamps, cash-aid and emergency Medi-Cal are encouraged to contact the Monterey County Department of Social and Employment services at 899-8001.

The Indians Fire burning near King City is 95 percent contained and it's expected to be contained by Monday. It has spread over 81,378 acres, although not all the terrain has burned. So far, the cost to get it under control has been $43 million.

Since June 20, California has had 1,781 fires that have burned more than 520,000 acres. There are a total of 335 active fires.

Claudia Meléndez Salinas can be reached at 753-6755 or cmelendez@montereyherald.com.Basin Complex Fire by the numbers 68,712 Total acres burned 5,000 Increase in acres burned in 24 hours 5% Containment 1,795 Firefighters fighting the blaze