Rugged Terrain Slows Effort Against Big Sur Fire
Rugged terrain hindered firefighters Tuesday as they battled the second wildfire on the scenic Big Sur coast in less than a month.
The blaze grew from 668 acres to 875 acres and containment lines decreased from 85% to 59%, said Maeton Freel of the Los Padres National Forest. Authorities had hoped for full containment by 6 p.m. Monday, but a flare-up jettisoned that estimate and the blaze “just took off,” Freel said.
“It’s in terrain so rugged we have to cut landings sites for helicopters,” he said.
About 625 firefighters fought the blaze burning in grass, oak and coastal redwoods.
The cause of the fire, located about 30 miles south of Monterey and Carmel, remained under investigation.
Many of the firefighters on the scene were veterans of the force that battled an earlier Big Sur fire about 30 miles to the south. That fire--an arson-sparked blaze that scorched 26,000 acres--was controlled last week.
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