Wind-Whipped Wildfire Close to Huge Sur Forces Evacuations; ‘Some Fairly Surreal Hearth Habits’ – CBS San Francisco
CARMEL (CBS SF) — Winds exceeding 65 miles per hour roared through northern California early Saturday, stoking a wildfire that ripped through the hills in the Palo Colorado Canyon near Big Sur, prompting evacuations and a nearby fire of Geysers Peak in Sonoma County.
Cal Fire said Saturday night the fire burned 1,050 acres, which differed from the original estimate due to better mapping. They said containment grew to 20%.
TO UPDATE: Airstrike, calming winds help firefighters battle wildfire near Big Sur; Containment grows to 25 percent
“The fire adapted to the wind and the terrain, and that gave the fire a lot of energy to make a big run,” said Cecile Juliette, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The National Weather Service issued high wind warnings and advisories throughout Northern California. A warning for the North Bay Mountains was extended until 4 p.m. Saturday. Winds of over 70 mph howled over Mount Diablo and a gust in the Healdsburg Hills was recorded at 96 mph and 94 mph at the nearby Pine Flat Road weather station.
What caused the fire was unclear.
Firefighters said it was unusual for a fire of this size to burn in the winter. They said this is another reminder that California’s fire season is year-round.
“The winds absolutely played a big part in what happened last night. We’ve had wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour,” Juliette said. “Everything is so dry that in the middle of winter this fire could spread really, really quickly.”
The National Weather Service said while Monterey County had a good amount of rain from late October through December, there was no measurable rain in January. They added that the burning area had little if any fire history.
“The timing is quite unique because we don’t generally have a lot of fires in January,” said Dr. Craig Clements, director of the Wildfire Research Center in San Jose State.
“Given that we had no rain at all in January and we had a large offshore wind event, these are the conditions that typically lead to wildfires in the fall, not January. So it’s something that’s quite surprising,” said Dr. Clements.
Although it had rained heavily late last year, Dr. Clements that several years of extreme drought means there is still plenty of dry fuel.
“If we catch our rainfall, our snowpack in the Sierra in February and March, maybe we’ll get back to normal,” said Dr. Clements.
“It no longer makes sense to label fire season as something that only happens three months of the year. It’s been like this year-round in California now and we anticipate it could get worse,” Juliette said.
Cal Fire said people living in fire-prone areas should stay alert due to the constant threat and be ready to evacuate at any time.
The stormy conditions quickly spread the two wildfires. Cal Fire officials reported that crews were responding to a wildfire in Palo Colorado Canyon north of Big Sur around 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The flames spread on hillsides still bone-dry from months of drought. The late December rains had eased due to conditions, but January was extremely dry again.
“Fire has remained stubbornly active overnight,” forecasters for the National Weather Service said. “Images on social media suggest quite surreal fire behavior given the wet October and December observed across the region with multiple atmospheric flow events. Looking at historical fire data, the fire appears to be burning south of Palo Colorado and toward Bixby Creek along Long Ridge in an area with little to no fire history.”
“Anecdotally, it appears that the long-term drought is behaving like a chronic disease, with even the recent rains and cold winter weather not helping to prevent fires from starting.”
Wildfires were a rarity at this time of year.
“It’s unusual to have a fire of this size here on the coast in late January,” Juliette said. “The fact that we had a fire of this size is very worrying.”
By 11:00 p.m., mandatory evacuation orders had been issued and an American Red Cross shelter was set up at Carmel Middle School. Residents quickly fled on streets covered in clouds of burning embers. The flames leapt across Highway 1, burned beneath the famous Bixby Bridge and were visible as far away as the famous Pebble Beach golf courses.
The concrete bridge spans the deep and wild gorge along the highway and has been the backdrop for many automotive commercials, films and television shows, most recently the HBO drama Big Little Lies.
Authorities contacted about 500 residents, urging them to evacuate the sparsely populated area between Carmel and Big Sur. More than 250 firefighters from multiple agencies and volunteer groups, supported by water-repellent aircraft, were able to contain about 20% of the blaze by Saturday night.
“The winds have dropped and that worked in our favor,” said Juliette on Saturday night.
The California Highway Patrol closed Highway 1 at Rio Road just outside of Carmel-by-the-Sea because of the fire. From the south of the fire, Highway 1 was closed at Andrew Molera State Park north of Big Sur.
The area affected by the evacuations was for residents living along Palo Colorado Road from Highway 1 east to the Rocky Creek Bridge and Bixby Creek Road. It was not immediately known how many homes in the rural area were threatened.
See evacuation zone map
“Looking back at last evening, the fire appeared to have started during the strongest offshore winds and very low humidity,” the weather service said. “The strongest offshore winds have now ended near the Colorado Fire. From 3 a.m. the current weather shows relative humidity values of 42-52% with southerly winds around 5 km/h. These light southerly winds represent a possible change that residents and firefighters should keep an eye on today.”
The video showed a wall of flame roaring over the scenic hills as Cal Fire dispatched responders from the faraway Bay Area. Cal Fire’s CZU unit in San Mateo County sent 4 fire engines to help fight the blaze.
Meanwhile, after midnight, a second windswept fire broke out in the hills near Geysers Peak Road. It grew to about 5 acres before firefighters could get the fire under control.
Winds were sweeping through the region at the time of the fire. A gust in the Healdsburg Hills was measured at 96 mph and 94 mph at the nearby Pine Flat Road weather station.
The #GeyserFire over Alexander Valley burns on Geyser Peak on Saturday, driven by 70-80mph offshore winds. Fire is out, unknown acreage. The area has received over a dozen inches of rain this winter and was under a blanket of snow a month ago. @NorthBayNews @NWSBayArea #CAwx pic.twitter.com/zCfGXDIAHw
— Kent Porter (@kentphotos) January 22, 2022
#GeysersFire (Geysers Peak, Sonoma Co) – IC reports 3-5 acres moving south downhill from repeater site, significant winds, slow to moderate rate of propagation. No evacuations required and no obvious signs of power lines. pic.twitter.com/HvpMMCUtiJ
— CA Fire Scanner (@CAFireScanner) January 22, 2022
© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
