N. Calif. Fire 80% Contained; 36 Homes Lost : Pebble Beach Fire Reported 80% Contained

Firefighters, battling throughout the night and this morning, have been able to contain 80% of the Pebble Beach blaze that destroyed at least 36 expensive houses overlooking the Pacific Ocean, burned 140 acres of forest and forced 200 residents to flee their homes.

About 375 firefighters from 16 communities, including some who came from San Francisco 100 miles away, used bulldozers, air tankers and helicopters to fight the blaze, firefighters said.

The fire was expected to be fully contained early this afternoon, Capt. Bill Bruno of the state Department of Forestry said. While it is now burning mainly in an uninhabited brushy area, there are still some houses at risk, he said, adding that brisk winds were expected to hamper operations throughout the day. The fire began Sunday afternoon on the east edge of the Morse Botanical Reserve and raged southward parallel to California 68.

The burned homes were valued at up to a million dollars each.

A fire investigation team reported this afternoon that the blaze, which has so far caused an estimated $9 million in damage, started with an illegal campfire. Most of the residents have not yet been allowed to return to their homes.

Some residents of the exclusive area had little warning when the blaze started Sunday. “Our evacuation call was a guy on a motorcycle riding down the street screaming, ‘Get out! Get out!’ ” Michael Kelly, 36, told reporters.

Bruno said the fire was moved along by dry weather conditions. “The moisture conditions were like late July or August, not May,” he said. “It’s going to be a very critical fire season this year for California.”

The blaze burned down stands of picturesque old Monterey pine in the Del Monte Forest along the coast. The fire was located about two miles north of Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the country’s most famous courses, and is near the 17-Mile Drive, which draws 1.5 million tourists a year to view the rugged Pacific coast.

Even while the fire continued to burn this morning, golfers were out on the links that were not in danger of the flames.

Dan Morain reported from Pebble Beach and Carol McGraw from Los Angeles.