California fires threaten Big Sur, Santa Barbara County

California fires threaten Big Sur, Santa Barbara County
Story Highlights
The Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County declared the state's top priority Friday

Fire has charred 3,000 acres, threatens town of Goleta

Some 1,400 Big Sur residents ordered to leave homes due to Basin Complex Fire

Volunteer dies north of San Francisco; more than 1,700 wildfires in last two weeks

BIG SUR, California (CNN) -- Fast-moving flames early Friday burned the steep mountainsides a mile from homes on the northern edge of Goleta, California, near Santa Barbara.


Mandatory evacuations ordered Thursday morning for mountain home communities outside Goleta were widened Thursday night as winds kicked up after sundown, making it tougher to fight the fire, a state fire spokesman said.

Farther north up the California coast, 1,400 residents of Big Sur were ordered to leave their homes because of the Basin Complex Fire, which has burned about 65,000 acres of the Los Padres National Forest in the last two weeks. At least 20 homes have been destroyed.

Besides forcing residents from their homes, the fire also is likely to deter tourists, who would usually flock to the area for the July Fourth holiday.

"I'm sure the season is just toast," Kurt Mayer, who stayed to defend his Big Sur Deli despite mandatory evacuation orders, told The Associated Press. "Usually the busiest time is July and August, so I'm sure it's just going to be zero."
click post title for more