Big Sur

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Wildfire Shuts PCH at Big Sur
Big Sur Fire Shuts Highway 1
photos

Big Sur Fire Shuts Highway 1

Winds up to 70mph are expected in Southern California, as well

(Newser) - A wind-driven wildfire broke out late Friday in the rugged mountains above Big Sur, forcing residents to evacuate their homes and authorities to shut down a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. The fire started in a canyon and was pushed by 35mph winds to the sea, jumping the highway and...

California Is Now 13 Acres Bigger
California Is Now
13 Acres Bigger

California Is Now 13 Acres Bigger

Thanks to a massive May 20 landslide in Big Sur

(Newser) - A recent landslide is the largest one a rep with California's Department of Transportation is aware of, and the US Geological Survey explains just how big it was. The May 20 slide in Big Sur involved more than a million tons of rock and dirt, and by analyzing before-and-after...

Massive Landslide Buries Iconic California Highway
New California Mudslide
Is Enormous

New California Mudslide Is Enormous

Part of Highway 1 in Big Sur is buried under 40 feet of rock, dirt

(Newser) - A massive landslide is the latest natural disaster to hit California's Big Sur, which relies heavily on an iconic coastal highway and tourism. Plus, it adds to a record $1 billion in highway damage from one of the state's wettest winters in decades. The weekend slide in Big...

Illegal Campfire Burns Area the Size of San Francisco

1 man has died in fire-related accident

(Newser) - It started with a small, illegal campfire. Now an area the size of San Francisco has been scorched in a deadly blaze ripping through California's Monterey County since July 22. State fire officials announced the cause of the blaze, dubbed the Soberanes Fire, in a closed area of Garrapata...

BASE Jumpers Survive Plunge Only to Drown in Big Sur Waves

It's a technical, short jump to a small landing spot at the water's edge

(Newser) - Two BASE jumpers swept into the Pacific Ocean after plunging 280 feet from the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur last week are presumed dead. Authorities found a helmet and parachute on the beach on Saturday, reports CBS News , and are piecing together the details of the Jan. 20 jump that...

Anne Hathaway Gets Married
 Anne Hathaway Gets Married 

Anne Hathaway Gets Married

Actress weds beau of 4 years Adam Shulman

(Newser) - Once better known for her romantic misfires, Anne Hathaway has officially settled down: The 29-year-old Catwoman yesterday married actor and jewelry designer Adam Shulman, 31, before 100 guests on California's Big Sur, reports People . The couple had been together four years, and got engaged last November. "I'm...

Part of Highway 1 Collapses Toward Sea

Pacific Coast Highway closed for at least a month during busy tourist season

(Newser) - Huge quantities of rock and dirt tumbled from a Big Sur cliff on Wednesday, collapsing a 40-foot stretch of California's Highway 1 toward the ocean. A 2-mile section of the Pacific Coast Highway will likely be impassable for at least a month, the Monterey Herald reports. “We don't want...

Defying Cops, Brothers Save Home From Fire

Amateurs' risky controlled burn lands Big Sur man in jail

(Newser) - When wildfires threatened their 55-acre family compound, two brothers in Big Sur, Calif., fought back with a risky tactic—a controlled burn. The plan saved the homes on the property they've cultivated for decades, but one of the brothers is now facing jail time for disobeying police orders, reports the...

California Blaze a 'Gorilla'
 California Blaze a 'Gorilla' 

California Blaze a 'Gorilla'

Firefighters face long, exhausting season

(Newser) - A wildfire in California's Santa Barbara County grew by another 700 acres in addition to 10,000 acres already charred as teams of exhausted firefighters continued to battle the fast-moving blaze. The Gap fire is a priority among the 1,781 blazes which have raged in the state over the...

Calif. Firefighters Battle 2 Huge Blazes

Predicted heat wave will magnify 1,700 fires in Calif.

(Newser) - Thousands of California firefighters battled a huge blaze today that threatened homes in Santa Barbara County, but lost ground to another fire near Big Sur, the Los Angeles Times reports. And weather likely will not help: Winds, lightning strikes, and fierce heat are expected to hit the state this week....

Firefighters Face 'Critical' Day

They hope to contain Goleta blaze; Big Sur still surly

(Newser) - Today will be “critical” for battling the Goleta fire, one of more than 330 still raging across California, a fire commander told the Los Angeles Times. The blaze has already scorched 8,300 acres, sparked more than 2,500 evacuations, and razed four buildings—but it is now 24%...

Wind Keeps Wildfires Spreading Throughout Calif.

Blaze inches closer to Big Sur; burn near Santa Barbara doubles overnight

(Newser) - A pair of out-of-control wildfires roared along California's central coast today, chewing through opposite ends of a parched forest and threatening a total of more than 4,500 homes. While flames from the stubborn fire inched closer to Big Sur's historic vacation retreats, state emergency officials said hot winds had...

Fires, Spiking Gas Aside, Calif. Tourism Still Sunny

Flocking foreigners capitalize on dollar

(Newser) - Near-continuous wildfires and soaring gas prices don’t seem to have made much of a dent in California’s tourism industry, the San Jose Mercury News reports. California's AAA reports only an 0.8% drop in Fourth of July domestic tourism, and a jump in visitors from abroad more than...

Big Sur Evacuated as Fires Rage

680 square miles scorched by wildfires

(Newser) - California residents have been ordered to evacuate the coastal resort Big Sur as wildfires rage in the hills above the town, USA Today reports. Ash rained on people as they packed cars before fleeing to safety. The Big Sur blaze is one of more than 1,100 wildfires in the...

Emergency Declared in Calif. Fires

Blazes threaten more than 6,800 homes; better weather expected

(Newser) - President Bush declared a region stretching from Nevada to the Pacific Ocean a federal disaster area, the Los Angeles Times reports, as more than 1,000 fires raged across northern California. Some 17,000 firefighters are battling the blazes, which threaten 6,800 homes. “We don’t have any...

Fires Threaten Big Sur
 Fires Threaten Big Sur 

Fires Threaten Big Sur

California smokeaters stretched thin with 700 blazes

(Newser) - Firefighters rushed to guard historic buildings in the scenic coastal town of Big Sur yesterday as a lightning-sparked wildfire blazed through a national forest in California, AP reports. The fire, only 3% contained, has burned 42 square miles of redwoods and destroyed 16 homes since Saturday. With 700 fires blazing...

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