The wildfire has burned almost 24,000 acres and is still going strong.
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By TERENCE CHEA and KRISTIN J.
Another operator escaped injury earlier Tuesday after a bulldozer being unloaded off a truck rolled over.
No further information on the identity of the person who died or the circumstances around the death was immediately available.
“We’re working hard, all sore and exhausted and we all have gravelly voices”, said Dave Welch, a Rancho Adobe battalion chief leading his first strike team in about eight years.
A team is looking into what caused the fire, but greater focus has been placed on evacuations and life-saving efforts, Cal Fire incident commander Todd Derum said.
At least 2,000 structures were threatened.
Hot temperatures and low humidity have intensified the flames, which have already forced the closure of all state parks from Point Lobos State Natural Reserve to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, fire officials said.
Pacific Coast Highway remained open Wednesday, but its signature views were marred by a dark haze.
“We wanted to see more of the ocean”, said Phoenix-area tourist Jim Newby, who drove along the highway with his family Tuesday. “We didn’t see a whole lot of it unfortunately, and it’s a lovely, handsome stretch”.
The blaze could very easily crest the ridge and make a run toward some of the beloved campgrounds, lodges and redwoods nearer to the shore, officials said.
Robert Bresnick, 67, was discovered dead about 7:20 p.m. Saturday inside a burned auto in a driveway outside a home in the 26700 block of Iron Canyon Road.
The blaze began shortly after 8:45 a.m. Friday at Soberanes Creek in Garrapata State Park, north of Big Sur, and crews expect to reach full containment on August 5, according to Cal Fire.
Firefighters expected temperatures to reach about 100 degrees (37.78 Celsius) on Wednesday with winds gusting to near 25 miles per hour (40.23 kph). The U.S. Forest Service said the fire remains at 10 percent containment as of Wednesday morning. “And that’s a lot”.
As fire crews made progress controlling a deadly wildfire in Southern California on Wednesday, another blaze continued to rage along the state’s picturesque Central Coast, triggering numerous trail closures and hiker rescues in the Los Padres National Forest.
More than 300 residents have been evacuated, and several area roads are closed.
Eight campers at the Central California attraction had been lost for nearly a week and had little food or water, according to KNTV. No serious injuries were reported.
Acting California Gov. Tom Torlakson issued a state of emergency in Monterey County. Firefighters vowed to block the fire’s descent into more populated areas, such as the iconic Carmel Valley, home to vineyards, horse farms, a golf course and notable residents such as Leon Panetta, the former USA defense secretary who spoke Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The move frees up funding and relaxes regulations to help with the firefight and the recovery.
Meanwhile in Wyoming, a large backcountry wildfire in the Shoshone National Forest put about 290 homes and guest ranches at risk.
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“This will provide the reimbursements for firefighting personnel because we have personnel from all over California in the Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley fighting this fire”, County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said in a statement obtained by KPCC.
