Big Sur is the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for wildfire danger

Big Sur residents this winter got a sneak preview of what may come with the Colorado Fire, which started Jan. 21. It burned 687 acres near Bixby Bridge, threatened 225 structures and destroyed one in the Palo Colorado neighborhood before being contained Feb. 5.

“With climate change, we’re the canary in the coal mine,” Butch Kronlund, executive director of the Community Association of Big Sur, told SFGATE. “Our fire return interval is three or four times of what it used to be and now we’re somewhere in a three-year drought. We are conscious and concerned and ready … for a wildland fire.”

The response to the Colorado Fire, officials said, was swift, and the weather and winds worked in their favor when it came to containment. But lessons were learned that will carry over as woodland fire danger reaches its apex in the summer and early fall months. 

The first one is that Big Sur isn’t quite like any other community, and that poses unique challenges. 

First off, it is actually geographically big. The area is unofficially anchored by a village with a handful of businesses, including a post office, a general store and riverfront restaurant, but the entire unincorporated region stretches 71 miles on California’s state Route 1, between Malpaso Creek in the north and San Carpoforo Creek Beach in the south.

Those tasked with protecting Big Sur’s 1,700 residents — sprinkled in the most densely forested, hard-to-get-to homes in the region — have multiple challenges. 

“Each of these little enclaves is unique,” Matt Harris, fire chief of the all-volunteer Big Sur Fire, told SFGATE. “We are aware of different hazard zones and the differences between people in their own right. We have people who have taken up residence in areas that are extremely hazardous. And we have our elderly residents who may require special services and care.

“We say look out for each other and account for each other. We are aware of who’s out there, of the challenges. That’s why it’s about education and messaging — planning for the uncertain.”

Fire preparedness in Big Sur, in other words, is a bespoke business.

While state fire officials say that Big Sur can use lessons learned from other recent blazes, like 2018’s Camp Fire in Paradise or last summer’s Caldor Fire in Eldorado National Forest at the doorstep of the Tahoe Basin, they acknowledge Big Sur is its own thing.

“All communities are unique … but Big Sur presents many challenges,” Cal Fire battalion chief of communications Isaac Sanchez said, just before making a wildfire presentation in Big Sur on May 4. “Fortunately, the community is active and responsive and educated.”

This sentiment was echoed by officials in Big Sur, as well as Cal Fire director Joe Tyler. “More than 1,200 acres of vegetation were treated as part of the Palo Colorado community fuel break and Monterey County fire prevention and tree mortality project,” Tyler said on May 4. “Proactive efforts, such as this, are a significant benefit to the community in slowing the spread of wildfire. This success story is a result of the cooperation of communities working together with stakeholders to reduce fire danger in the area.”