Severe wildfire jumps line

Most residents in Big Sur told to evacuate

By | Thursday, July 3, 2008

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BIG SUR (AP) | Authorities ordered most of 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.

New mandatory evacuation notices were issued for a 10-mile stretch along the eastern side of state Highway 1, bringing the total length of the evacuated area to more than 25 miles, 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.

Authorities essentially have closed a 25-mile stretch of Highway 1, blocking access to popular resorts, restaurants, shops and art galleries that line the scenic roadway and attract tourists from around the world.

The blaze has destroyed 16 homes and charred about 82 square miles of forest since it was started by lightning on June 21 in the Los Padres National Forest. It was about 3 percent contained.

The new evacuation notice means that nearly 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, Mr. Marshall said.

"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," R. David Paulison, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said in a phone interview from the scene. He spoke from inside a tent as the wind roared outside.

Mr. Paulison said the evacuation he saw was orderly.

"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."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, on Tuesday ordered 200 National Guardsmen to report for fire training to begin assisting on fire lines early next week. The extra hands are expected to boost the nearly 19,000 personnel fighting the fires.

The governor's office said this is the first time since 1977 that California's National Guard troops have been sent to the fire lines. However, Guard troops have helped in traffic control and other duties since then, and Air National Guard units have assisted firefighting efforts in California and elsewhere this summer.

Drought, heat and lightning storms have contributed to more than 1,100 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.

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