Evacuation orders lifted after fast-moving vegetation fire near Pismo Beach
Evacuation orders were in place for a few hours for parts of Pismo Beach threatened by a fast-moving grass fire that broke out on Monday afternoon.
The fire threatened multiple structures and initially had the potential to grow to hundreds of acres. Ultimately, it burned about 10 acres before it was contained, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Ryan Grebe.
The fire was reported at 4 p.m. near the 2700 block of Barcelona Street on the east side of Highway 101, according to a Cal Fire post on X.
By 4:20 p.m., evacuation orders were issued for the far north end of Barcelona Street, with warnings issues for the east end, Cal Fire posted on X.
Grebe told The Tribune evacuation warnings were issued for the 2600 to 1600 block range of Costa Brava and Costa del Sol as well as in the Crag Canyon and Thousand Hills areas.
Within minutes of starting, the fire was reportedly up to seven acres, with wind and terrain driving its growth, according to the emergency response app Watch Duty. The fire remained around six to 10 acres for the next 20 minutes, with fire activity moderation “a little bit,” the app said.
Multiple structures were immediately threatened and the fire had a potential for “a couple hundreds acres,” the app said.
Seven fire engines, one air tanker and one helicopter were requested on top of the original crews dispatched, according to the app.
The fire reached 10 acres at 4:43 p.m., Grebe said.
“There still is some potential for the fire to spread,” he said at the time.
Fire retardant was dropped on around 60% to 75% of the fire and winds died down in the area, the app said.
Forward progress on the fire was stopped at 5:16 p.m., according to Watch Duty. Full containment was never reported.
At 11:45 p.m. all evacuation orders and warnings were lifted, according to the app.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM.
