Wildfire closes in on Big Sur

Sonja Gardenswartz moves linens from a guest cottage to a truck to be taken away as fire approaches the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.  (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

Fire crews from a joint task force from Nebraska, Colorado, Oregon and Kansas, are engulfed by smoke from a wildfire as it approaches a home on Partington Ridge Road south of Big Sur.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Robert Koch, of PatRick Corporation, a private contractor from Oregon, hoses down a house as flames approach on Partington Ridge Road south of Big Sur.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Firefighter Josh Zufelt covers his face as a wildfire approaches a home on Partington Ridge Road south of Big Sur.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

The view of the Pacific coastline is obstructed by haze from a wildfire north of Big Sur.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Smoke from the fires in Big Sur shrouds the hills of Carmel Valley. Fires continue to burn in the area, and forecasts of lightning mean more fires likely will come this weekend.  (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

Little Tujunga Hot Shots build a fire line in Big Sur. Fire crews continue to fight a wildfire which has scorched the Los Padres National Forest along California’s Central Coast.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

A redwood burns at its roots in Big Sur. Nearly 1,100 fires were burning from San Jose to the Oregon border, said a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Leonides Guillen tries to avoid inhaling smoke as she walks along Highway 1 on her way to work in Big Sur.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Kirk Gafill, general manager of Nepenthe restaurant, eyes the wildfire approaching his family-owned business in Big Sur.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)