BIG SUR, Calif. — Although an explosive wildfire ravaged the hillsides above this scenic coastal community Thursday, some people defied orders to evacuate, staying behind to try to save their homes and businesses from the raging 61,000-acre blaze that already has burned at least 20 homes.
The raging blaze near Big Sur was one of more than 1,700 wildfires, mostly ignited by lightning, that have scorched more then 770 square miles and destroyed 64 structures across central and Northern California since June 20, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Kirk Gafill, general manager of the popular cliffside Nepenthe Restaurant, said he and five employees were up all night trying to protect the business his grandparents built in 1949. Wearing dust masks, the crew scrambled to stamp out the dinner-plate-sized embers dropping from the sky, he said.
“We know fire officials don’t have the manpower to secure our properties,” Gafill said. “Based on what we saw during Katrina and other disasters, we know we can only rely on ourselves and our neighbors.”
About 60 firefighters were hunkered down Thursday at the historic Ventana Inn, trying to save the 243-acre resort as flames blazed about 500 yards away from the inn’s restaurant. The buildings had been sprayed with a foamy fire retardant.
“This is a big, big deal,” said Scott Myhre, a battalion chief with the Salinas Fire Department. “This resort is very well known.”
Authorities issued mandatory evacuations Wednesday for an additional 16-mile stretch along Highway 1 after the massive blaze jumped a fire line.
A total of 31 miles of the Pacific Coast Highway have been closed, and about 1,200 homes are threatened on a long strip of coast in the Los Padres National Forest, a Forest Service spokesman said. The fire was only 5 percent contained and wasn’t expected to be fully surrounded until the end of the month.
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