"Big Sur, Monterey County -- Stoked by dry air and dead oaks, a 55,820-acre fire drove residents and visitors today from one of the most fabled stretches of the California coast, Big Sur.
A mandatory 7 p.m. evacuation closed 25 miles of coastline along Highway 1, including the town of Big Sur and such well-known visitor destinations as the Nepenthe restaurant, the Ventana and Post Ranch inns and four state parks.
Lightning sparked the blaze dubbed the Basin Complex Fire on June 21, and 17 structures have been destroyed since and another 1,277 were threatened tonight. Ominously, the fire remains just 3 percent contained despite the best effort of more than 1,600 firefighting personnel assisted by helicopters and air tankers."
Read more at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/02/BATQ11J9AR.DTL&feed=rss.news