Dolan Fire Shuts Highway 1 And Burns In All Directions

BIG SUR, CA — The Dolan Fire, which broke out north of Lucia and Ragged Point Tuesday night has likely doubled from 2,500 acres and is 0% contained. The fire will be difficult to fight considering the rugged terrain, according to Andrew Madsen, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest.

"This is very steep, rugged territory that hasn't seen fire in many years," Madsen said. "It's 100 degrees plus along the fire line and there's on a handful of roads to use — it's going to be very challenging."

Fresno man, Ivan Gomez, has also been arrested near the origin of the fire. He has been accused of arson, police said.

The smokey wildfire has grounded some air resources, prompted over 100 to evacuate and is actively burning out of control in all directions, Madsen said.

The fire closed both sides of Highway 1 Wednesday morning between the north side of Ragged point on the northern end of San Luis Obispo County, to just north of Lucia.

Currently, CalFire, the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Monterey County Sheriff's Department are working to suppress the fire but the agencies are awaiting more support.

An evacuation order for over 100 people was issued yesterday in Dolan Canyon in Monterey County and more evacuations are expected in the Big Sur and Carmel areas today. Some refused to evacuate, opting to stay behind and protect their homes, Madsen said. Those individuals appeared to be doing fine Wednesday afternoon.

Other residents in the area were encouraged to stay inside by officials from the Monterey County Sheriff and Los Padres National Forest due to poor air quality.

The fire began around 8 p.m. Tuesday and burned actively through the dry area overnight. Madsen one of the biggest concerns is whether the fire will impact Anderson Peak, an area that maintains critical communication equipment for commercial flights.

As crews await additional support that will be arriving by 10 a.m. Thursday morning, Madsen said they are facing a unique challenge in where to direct crews to camp along the fire lines due to COVID-19.

"We don't want to increase any additional exposure so we'll have to look at areas where they can get rest near the fire line," Madsen said.

#DolanFire est 2500 acres, actively burning in all directions. Evacs on east side of Dolan Cyn. Hwy 1 closed on the south at Lucia & north at Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP. @LosPadresNF in Unified Cmd with @CALFIREBEU, @MCoSheriff & Big Sur Vol Fire Brigade.
— Los Padres NF (@LosPadresNF) August 19, 2020

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See also: Man Accused Of Arson In Connection To Big Sur Dolan Fire