Firefighter Brendon Gorman ignites backfire to stop the Soberanes Fire’s spread along Palo Colorado Road near Big Sur, California, U.S. July 27, 2016. A wildfire burns in the Palo Colorado Canyon in the scenic Big Sur region of California’s Central Coast, Monday, July 25, 2016.
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Acting California Governor Tom Torlakson, filling in for Jerry Brown who is at the Democratic National Convention, declared on Tuesday a state of emergency for the counties where the fires are located.
Cooler temperatures gave the more than 3,000 fire crews working around the clock a brief respite Wednesday but forecasters say Thursday and Friday will bring temperatures in the upper 80s with light winds and low humidity.
The blaze is 10 percent contained. The hikers suffered no injuries, and were safely rescued due to collaborative efforts between the Monterey County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and fire operations personnel.
Bulldozing crews found the men after air crews spotted them and pinpointed their location with a global positioning unit.
A bulldozer operator at the south end of the fire died overnight, said fire Captain Richard Cordova, a spokesman for the team handling the blaze. The operator’s name and age were not immediately available. Another operator escaped injury earlier Tuesday after a bulldozer being unloaded off a truck rolled over.
Eight hikers are recovering after being rescued from the fire lines on the south side of a massive blaze burning near Big Sur.
A bulldozer operator was fatally injured while fighting the ongoing inferno, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a press release.
According to Butron, campers at a nearby boy scout met the hikers and gave them food and water when they landed.
When the fire broke out, the men became stranded and didn’t know which direction would lead them to safety, the station reported.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Department also issued mandatory evacuations for Weston Ridge Road, Garrapatos Road, and Highway 1 at Old Coast Road. A handful of neighborhoods remain evacuated Wednesday morning.
At least 18 homes have been destroyed.
There was also high potential for “fire runs” up slopes still choked with unburned brush, he said. That blaze is just 10 percent contained.
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The blaze has now blackened 23,568 acres, or 36 square miles, and burned 20 homes and two outbuildings, said Maia Carroll, communications coordinator for the County of Monterey.
