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California wildfire forces evacuations between Carmel, Big Sur
Strong winds pushed a wildfire that broke out in the rugged mountains above Big Sur to the sea, forcing residents to evacuate and authorities to shut its main roadway.
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BIG SUR, Calif. — Firefighters on Saturday were battling a wildfire that broke out in the rugged mountains along Big Sur, forcing hundreds of residents on this precarious stretch of the California coast to evacuate and authorities to shut its main roadway.
The fire started Friday night in a steep canyon and quickly spread toward the sea, fanned by strong winds up to 50 mph. The blaze burned at least 2.3 square miles of brush and redwood trees, said Cecile Juliette, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“The fire lined up with the wind and the terrain and that gave the fire a lot of energy to make a big run,” she said Saturday.
Authorities made contact with 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, aided by water-dropping aircraft, contained about 20 percent of the blaze by Saturday evening.
“The winds have died down and that has worked in our favor,” she said.
Authorities closed a stretch of Highway 1 with no estimated time for reopening. The two-lane highway along Big Sur is prone to closures due to fire and mudslides from heavy rain made portions of the roadway collapse last year and in 2017.
Evacuees shared on social media dramatic images of flames burning behind iconic Bixby Bridge. The tall concrete span has been the backdrop of many car commercials, movies and TV shows, most recently the HBO drama “Big Little Lies.”
Strong winds were recorded across the San Francisco Bay Area overnight, knocking down trees and power lines and causing outages to at least 18,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the region, the utility said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.