Fire Crews Contain Stubborn 14,300-Acre Blaze in Big Sur

Ugly clouds of acrid smoke continued to hang over the rugged Big Sur area Monday, but crews battling fire with fire made steady progress against a blaze that charred 14,300 acres since it started a week ago.

The arson fire that started Oct. 7 about 25 miles south of this scenic coastal town was 95% contained by midday Monday, said Kathy Good, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

“Don’t be surprised if that acre figure grows,” she said, noting that firefighters will add to the toll themselves.

That’s because crews are setting fires on the perimeter to destroy fuel in the path of the flames. Firefighters also burned vegetation that the fire missed as it moved into the Los Padres National Forest from California 1, the popular tourist road that overlooks the Pacific as it winds along the coast.

“The idea is to keep pushing it until it meets in a middle and burns itself out because there’s no more fuel,” said Steve Kliest, a spokesman for the massive firefighting effort based in Pacific Valley.

The fire, which is expected to be fully contained by 6 p.m. today, has burned five single-family houses, along with nine outbuildings and a travel trailer in the Wild Cattle Canyon area.

At least six of the 2,100 firefighters have been injured, including one who was stung more than 25 times after knocking over a beehive.