The blaze took a deadly turn on Tuesday when a bulldozer operator hired by property owners to help battle the flames was killed when his tractor rolled over.
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Officials say flames are concentrated in forested ridges above the summer fog line along the coast.
A fast-moving wildfire is having a crushing effect on tourism in Big Sur, an area of central California that is famed for having among the most scenic coastlines in the country. The cost of fighting the fire is now at about $6 million a day, it said on its Twitter feed. Some 57 homes and 11 outbuildings have been destroyed. At some point, he suffered fatal injuries in a remote area on the southeast end of the fire in Garrapata State Park in Carmel.
“The weather is cooperating, especially in the coastal region”, said Robert Fish, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
At the luxury Post Ranch Inn, where clifftop rooms that open to sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean go for more than $2,000 a night, general manager Kevin Geanides was offering refunds to guests canceling stays because of the wildfire.
Smoke from the Soberanes Fire combined with a marine layer reduces visibility over Bixby Bridge on State Route 1 north of Big Sur, California.
Big Sur is one of California’s most popular tourist destinations, with an estimated 33 million visitors a year – majority coming during summer. Other residents and travelers agreed.
Two hundred firefighters with air support turned back the immediate threat to homes north of Reno where a series of lightning-sparked wildfires prompted voluntary evacuations Friday.
The fire zone grew by several thousand acres on Saturday, even as firefighters hacked away more vegetation to keep containment lines extended around 15 percent of its expanding perimeter, officials said.
“It’s a heartbreaker. I could cry right now”, Tom Huntington said.
On the outskirts of Los Angeles, meanwhile, crews had stopped the spread of a 61-square-mile (157-square kilometer) blaze that killed one man and destroyed 18 homes.
A new fire in southwest Wyoming has destroyed eight rural homes and forced the evacuation of about 140 others. The blaze so far has spared the area’s redwood groves, as well as the Carmel Valley area, home to a number of luxury retreats. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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In 24 hours, the fire spread to about 2,000 acres.
