BIG SUR, Calif. — Authorities ordered the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, one of hundreds in California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more homes.
Flames raged in the hills above and ash fell from orange skies as evacuees in packed cars streamed north along Route 1, the only major road out of Big Sur. Sheriff’s deputies told residents they needed to leave the area by late afternoon.
“The fire is just a big raging animal right now,” said Darby Marshall, spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.
The Big Sur blaze is one of more than 1,100 fires, mostly ignited by lightning, that have scorched 680 square miles and destroyed 60 homes and buildings across northern California since June 20, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The new evacuation notice means that all of the roughly 850 residents have been ordered to leave, Marshall said.
An increase in severe wildfire activity in northern California through October is forecast due to unusually hot, dry weather and scant rain.
