Just over a year after dozens of wildfires broke out in Santa Cruz County, similar dry and windy conditions lit the Big Sur fire in Colorado on Friday, burning at least 700 acres of land and prompting evacuations for hundreds.
New mapping efforts on Sunday lowered an estimated 283 hectares (700 acres) in size, according to 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,” said Cecile Juliette, a spokeswoman for the California Office of Forestery and Fire Safety.
Flames were erupting on Friday evening, when powerful, dry offshore winds lashed California, bringing damaging gusts.
Named after its home in Palo Colorado Canyon, the Colorado fire has triggered evacuation orders for approximately 500 people in the sparsely populated area.
More than 200 buildings are continually under threat, and a building identified as a yurt was destroyed in the fire, said Justin Hollingshead of the Cal Fire Department.
The fire’s cause has yet to be determined.
The area where the Colorado fire burns has only seen one fire consumption more than 100 acres in the past decade, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Cecile Juliette.
Very dry conditions will continue through end of month, bringing record dry January to some portions of Central & interior Northern CA/western NV. Multi-model ensembles are suggesting a subtle westward shift in Pacific blocking ridge in early February. However… #CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/WSVTWndK9u
— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) January 24, 2022
#ColoradoFire off Palo Colorado Canyon, Big Sur, south of Carmel-by-the-sea in Monterey County is in the 700 acres and 35% contained. Updated acreage due to better mapping. In Unified Command with @CALFIREBEU and Mid Coast Fire. https://t.co/Y1F1JeMDCZ pic.twitter.com/xAKm6ek3P0
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) January 24, 2022
