Wildfire Along Big Sur Forces Evacuations

Updated 10:45 a.m. Sunday

Hundreds of residents remained evacuated Sunday as crews battled a wildfire in rugged mountains along the California coast that forced the closure of the main roadway near Big Sur.

One structure, a yurt, was destroyed by the blaze that broke out Friday in a steep canyon and quickly spread toward the sea, fanned by gusts of up to 50 mph.

The Colorado Fire, as it's been dubbed, is 25% contained and has burned 1,050 acres as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire.

The flames made a big run after winds whipped up again late Saturday, but since then conditions have calmed and crews made some progress against the blaze, said Cecile Juliette, a spokesperson for Cal Fire.

“The winds today have been favorable, so that’s some good news,” Juliette said on Sunday.

They called the fire's behavior "moderate" and said crews will be "mopping up hotspots" on Sunday.

The fire broke out Friday night in a steep canyon. Fanned by wind gusts of up to 50 mph, it quickly burned at least 2.3 square miles of brush and redwood trees, Juliette said.

Authorities made contact with about 500 residents, urging them to evacuate the sparsely populated area between Carmel and Big Sur. About 225 structures are threatened, with one structure destroyed so far.

More than 250 firefighters from multiple agencies and volunteer groups were aided by water-dropping aircraft including an air attack plane and one helicopter.

The fire prompted officials to close Highway 1 from Andrew Molera State Park to the Granite Canyon Bridge, with no estimate as to when it would be reopened.

The highway along Big Sur is prone to closures due to fire and mudslides from heavy rain that made portions of the roadway collapse to the sea last year and in 2017.

Evacuees shared on social media dramatic images of flames burning behind iconic Bixby Bridge. The tall concrete span has been the backdrop of many car commercials, movies and TV shows, most recently the HBO drama “Big Little Lies.”

Strong winds were recorded across the San Francisco Bay Area overnight, knocking down trees and power lines and causing outages to at least 18,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the region, the utility said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

In Sonoma County, firefighters extinguished a 5-acre fire on Geyser Peak, where gusts above 90 mph were recorded.

The National Weather Service said a similar windy event happened in the region nearly a year ago on the night of Jan. 18. A red flag warning of extreme fire danger was issued then due to the strong winds and much drier conditions.

This time, the region was still moist after December storms dumped heavy snow in the mountains and partially refilled parched reservoirs, providing some relief from what had been an exceptionally dry year.

However, Juliette said the winds quickly dried up vegetation weakened by a prolonged drought and lowered humidity level.

“It’s unusual to have fire this size here on the coast at the end of January,” she said. “The fact that we had a fire this size is of great concern.”

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Warnings of gusts from 50 mph to 70 mph were set to go into effect in much of Southern California by midafternoon Saturday.

KQED's Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez contributed to this report.