Update: More evacuation orders issued for areas east of Dolan Fire
Update, 4:30 p.m.
To the east of the Dolan Fire, evacuation orders have been issued for Monterey County’s Zone 24, Zone 26 and Zone 28. The orders were issued around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Zone 28 stretches from Santa Lucia Road south to Del Ventura Road and from Road 5 to Reliz Canyon.
Listed as Zone 24 evacuation areas are areas west of Reliz Canyon Road to the intersection of Arroyo Seco Road, south of Arroyo Seco Road to the intersection of Santa Lucia Trail. east of Santa Lucia Trail to the intersection of Bear Mountain Trail and north of Bear Mountain Trail to the intersection of Reliz Canyon Road.
Zone 26 covers the area west of Jamesburg Road to the intersection of Cahoon Ranch Road, south of Cahoon Ranch Road to Chews Ridge, east of Chews Ridge and Tassajara Road to the intersection of Tony Trail and east of Tony Trail to the intersection of Marble Peak Road. The area north of Marble Peak Road and Arroyo Seco Road were also under evacuation.
Further east of the mandatory evacuation zones, Zone 14 A West, Zone 25 and Zone 29 of Monterey County were under evacuation warnings as of Wednesday evening.
Evacuation orders remained in place for the Gorda, South Coast Ridge and Prewitt Ridge areas while evacuation warnings have been issued for Fort Hunter Liggett, Salmon Creek, Big Creek and Partington areas.
Where to go if you need to evacuate
An evacuation center is located north of the wildfire at the Local Assistance Center in the Monterey County Conference Center at 1 Portola Plaza in Monterey. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. everyday, according to the office of emergency services.
To the east of the fire, an evacuation center has been set up at the King City Library, 402 Broadway St. in King City. That center is also open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Evacuees who are headed south to San Luis Obispo County may call 805-788-2307 for emergency sheltering, the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services said.
“We do know that we are receiving some evacuees from Monterey County, there are some coming in today and the OES is working with Red Cross to get them housed and situated,” San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services director Wade Horton said at a Wednesday news briefing.
Original story
The Dolan Fire near Big Sur grew another 20,000 acres overnight, prompting more evacuations and road closures near San Luis Obispo County by Wednesday morning.
The fire has burned 93,554 acres and with the increased spread, containment has been re-evaluated at 20%, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Dolan Fire was believed to have been started by arson Aug. 18.
As of Wednesday morning, the Highway 1 closure was pushed further south, extending from from Ragged Point to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
Nacimiento-Fergusson Road was closed from Highway 1 to the Fort Hunter Liggett base boundary line and Los Burros Road, while Plaskett Ridge Road and South Coast Ridge Road are closed to everyone except residents, the forest service said.
Del Venturi Road and Red Grade Road near Fort Hunter Liggett were also closed, according to the military base.
Evacuation orders were in place for the Lucia, Prewitt Ridge, South Coast Ride Road, and Gorda areas. Memorial Park homes were also added to the list of mandatory evacuation areas.
The area affected by evacuation orders stretched along Highway 1 from Salmon Creek Falls to Anderson Canyon and from the coast to around five miles inland, according to the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.
An advisory evacuation status was in effect in the areas east of Arroyo Seco Road and from Salmon Creek south to the border between Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.
Evacuation warnings were in place in the Big Creek and Partington areas north of the fire. To the east, Zone 24 and Zone 27 of Monterey County were also under evacuation warnings.
Fort Hunter Liggett, the military base east of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, has also issued an evacuation warning for its residents.
Los Padres National Forest was closed Monday due to fire concerns.
Dolan Fire encroaches on Fort Hunter Liggett
The fire Tuesday jumped the Nacimiento-Fergason Road and trapped 14 firefighters who were defending the Nacimiento Fire Station, which ultimately burned down. Officials on Tuesday had believed the fire had trapped 15 people.
The firefighters, mostly Forest Service employees, used a “shelter deployment” as a last ditch effort to protect themselves from the fire.
Three of the firefighters were injured, one of whom sustained critical injuries and the condition of the other two remained unknown. The three firefighters were flown to a Fresno hospital.
By Tuesday evening, the fire had progressed to the edges of a remote training area at Fort Hunter Liggett, according to the military base.
Firefighters back burned the areas near the encroaching fire to halt forward progress Tuesday night, U.S. Army Col. Charles Bell, Fort Hunter Liggett garrison commander, said during a Facebook Live update. Fire breaks were also reinforced near the San Antonio Mission and the base perimeter.
“We’re not completely out of the woods, but we’re very confident and optimistic with where we are today,” Bell said.
According to Fort Hunter Liggett officials, residents should be prepared to evacuate to Camp Roberts in San Luis Obispo County or area hotels and shelters.
Marine layer to bring cooler temperatures to wildfire area
Cooler temperatures were expected to return Wednesday after a record-breaking heat wave that contributed to an increase in fire activity, the Forest Service said.
Northerly winds that came Monday were expected to shift to the south and southwest as a marine layer returned to the area, the Forest Service predicted.
The Forest Service said although the marine layer was expected to bring cooler weather and more humidity, dry fuel, high winds and steep terrain were expected to affect firefighting efforts above the layer of moisture.
A total of 738 firefighters were on the scene Wednesday morning, the Forest Service reported.
Crews were expected to scout out areas along the eastern edge of the fire to identify possible containment line areas. The burn scar from the 2008 Indian Fire could allow firefighters to increase containment in the east, according to the Forest Service.
Depending on weather conditions, firefighters were planning on conducting burn operations in the south and east perimeters of the fire, the Forest Service said.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
