BIG SUR, Calif. — Authorities ordered the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, one of hundreds in California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more homes.
Flames raged in the hills above and ash fell from orange skies as evacuees in packed cars streamed north along Highway 1, the only major road out of Big Sur. Sheriff’s deputies told residents they needed to leave the area by late afternoon.
“The fire is just a big raging animal right now,” said Darby Marshall, spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.
The Big Sur blaze is one of more than 1,100 wildfires, mostly ignited by lightning, that have scorched 680 square miles and destroyed 60 homes and buildings across Northern California since June 20, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
New mandatory evacuation notices were issued Wednesday for a 10-mile stretch along Highway 1. Authorities have closed a total of 25 miles of the scenic roadway, blocking access to popular resorts, restaurants, shops and art galleries that attract tourists from around the world.
The blaze had destroyed 16 homes and charred about 81 square miles of forest since it was started by lightning on June 21 in the Los Padres National Forest. It was only about 3 percent contained.
The new evacuation notice means that all of the roughly 850 residents who live along the Big Sur coast from Andrew Molera State Park to Limekiln State Park have been ordered to leave, Marshall said.
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.”
Helicopters hauling large containers of water droned loudly overhead as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Paulison, visited Big Sur on Wednesday.
“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 in an interview. “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.”
Drought, heat and lightning storms have contributed to more than 1,100 separate fires that have blackened 680 square miles of land statewide in the past two weeks. The blazes have destroyed 60 homes and other buildings while threatening thousands more, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Federal fire managers predict an increase in severe wildfire activity in northern California through October because of the unusually hot, dry weather and scant rain.
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