Big Sur Fire

Last weekend, our south coast Station 3 crew met for their first in person training of the year. Over the last year we have tried to do as many virtual trainings as possible and are certainly looking forward to more opportunities like these!

***NEEDED: JUNK CARS FOR UPCOMING TRAINING*** Greetings Big Sur! As we look toward resuming in-person trainings, we will be holding a Vehicle Extrication and Rescue Class for our firefighters in April. You can support your local Big Sur Fire brigade by donating a vehicle (running or not) that our volunteers can practice extrication skills and techniques during the training. Here are some things to consider: ... - A running vehicle is preferred to avoid the need to tow. If you have a non-running vehicle that you are able to tow to our Station 1 location, that would be great as well! - Having a pink slip for your vehicle is also preferred, as it makes the salvaging process after the course much easier. - Have a vehicle to donate that doesn't meet those preferences? That's ok, let us know anyway! If we need to coordinate a pick up, we will do our best to accommodate. Please send us an email to [email protected], call the station at 667-2113, or send us a private message on Facebook.

Today, Caltrans announced that repairs to Highway 1 at the Rat Creek slide will begin March 1st with the highway opening scheduled for early summer. Recently, some of our members volunteered an entire day to drive an engine and water tender around to the southern end of the coast to our Station 3 location. Big Sur Fire remains engaged with other agencies participating in meetings and conference calls in an effort to stay as coordinated as possible. While we are not in our ...Continue reading

Happy birthday Chief Harris!

A significant portion of Highway 1 continued to slide overnight. Thank you Kate Novoa for sharing. Photo credit: Heath Johnston

Confirmed that Highway 1 has slid out at Rat Creek, MM 30 (south of Esalen, north of Big Creek). We don’t know how long the highway will be closed at this point but will update here as we get more information.

Last week, Big Sur Fire firefighters began receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. We are very happy to be among some of the first to receive the vaccine, and look forward to it becoming more widely available. We, like so many of you, are eager to see this pandemic come to an end and return to a sense of normalcy. Until then, we wish health and safety to all those in our community and beyond. https://www.ksbw.com//big-sur-firefighters-begin-/35167670#

We have been getting a lot of inquiries around the upcoming burn season. We know this time of year often inspires us to start clearing our properties. This year, the entire process will be available online. You will be able to apply for your permit as well as report your burn right on our website. Burn season tentatively begins on December 1st, through April 30th. Because of the lack of rain we are anticipating that the back yard burn season WILL NOT begin December 1st. We w...ill do our best to keep everyone up to date so please continue to check here for updates. REMEMBER: Even though you can apply for your permit anytime, you cannot burn unless it is a permissible burn day! If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. bigsurfire.org/burn-permit-application

Big Sur residents please be advised: Cal fire is suspending all burn permits in Monterey county as of 8 AM today. No burning will be allowed until further notice. We will be updating our website today to reflect these changes and will continue to update here on our Facebook page. https://kion546.com//cal-fire-suspending-burn-permits-in-/

As we begin this new year, Big Sur Fire is happy to welcome two new community members to our Board of Directors, Alicia Hahn Peterson and Helen Marie Handshy! We also want to congratulate current members Frank Pinney, Barbara Sexton and Matt Glazer on their reelection! Our board members do so much work behind the scenes, we wanted to give them a special shout out. Thank you also to Douglas Drummond, MaryAnn Vasconcellos, and Kenny Comello for your continued service. We couldn’t do it without each and everyone of you! You can check out our full roster at https://bigsurfire.org/big-sur-fire-crew

The end of year support we have received has been tremendous! We cannot thank our donors enough for the support they give us! 2020 has certainly been one for the books but the community has remained strong, as Big Sur always has during challenging times. Our #MCGives campaign run through December 31st. We know there are so many in need this year, but if you are thinking of making end of year contributions, we thank you in advance for considering us! montereycountygives.com/bigsurfire

Cal Fire has announced that as of tomorrow, December 21st @ 8:00 AM, the burn ban will be suspended. FOR TOMORROW ONLY, we are asking anyone who intends to do any burning please call the station at 667-2113 to report your burn, as we will be updating our website tomorrow so the online burn reporting WILL NOT be available. Beginning Tuesday, December 22nd, we ask that you utilize the online option when possible to ease the work load on our volunteers and administrative staff. ... Please remember, even though burn season is beginning, you must still call 1-800-225-2876 (1-800-CAL-BURN) to ensure it is a permissible burn day each day you plan on burning! Big Sur Residents can obtain a permit at: https://www.bigsurfire.org/burn-permit-application People outside our response zone should contact their local fire department for information regarding permits for their area.

As 2020 comes to end, we here at Big Sur Fire have so much to be grateful for, and Big Sur Food & Wine just gave us one more reason! In a year that put the strength of our local non profits to the test, our dear friends and supporters at BSFW have managed to donate $10,000 to our organization through our #MCGives campaign. We know that we are just one of the Big Sur nonprofits that Big Sur Food and Wine supports and we are thankful that even during a year that they have had to cancel all their events, they are still contributing to the community! Today is the last day to contribute to our Monterey County Gives Campaign and you can do so by visiting montereycountygives.com/bigsurfire We hope you enjoy these photos from the past year....

Looking for ways to help or donate? Big Sur Fire is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) organization and relies almost entirely on private donations. If you would like to help by donating to Big Sur Fire, click on the logo below and use the "DONATE NOW" button on our website. All donations will be greatly appreciated.

Happy Halloween everyone! Although our annual event, the Bal Masque, is cancelled many of you may still choose to gather in small groups with your families and friends. As your first responders we want to remind everyone to stay safe this Halloween, which also happens to be on a full moon and daylight savings! So turn your clocks back, recharge your crystals, and don’t drink and drive!

With the county once again under a stay at home order, we understand how difficult this time can be. That's why we are so grateful to our supporters who have contributed to our #mcgives campaign. We have raised over $35,000 so far and there is still time to donate! The campaign runs through December 31st and money raised will go directly to supporting our firefighters through our Health and Wellness program. To donate, click the link: montereycountygives.com/bigsurfire Pictured here are Captains Foster and Alexander along with Firefighter Southall after responding to an early morning car accident turned brush fire earlier this year.

Community video update for the #DolanFire and #ColemanFire. This will be the last video update from the Silver IMT. A Type 3 team will be taking over the fires tomorrow, October 29 at 5pm.

USFS Dolan and Coleman Fire Update and Map 10-23-20

We are just over 3 weeks into our Monterey County Gives Campaign and we are so grateful for all the support that has poured in! #MCGives last through December 31 so there is still time to donate! This year our Big Idea is a Health and Wellness Program for our firefighters. Fire Departments all over the country are recognizing, more than ever, the need to implement programs like these as a means to support their firefighters physical and mental health. Your donation will help support our volunteers though training, education, and professional services that are not only needed, but much appreciated, by our firefighters! montereycountygives.com/bigsurfire

USFS Dolan and Coleman Fire Update and Map 10-22-20

USFS Dolan and Coleman Fire Update 10-21 My apologies the previous post had the wrong date on the attachment.

UPDATE: For clarification, Big Sur Fire can only issue burn permits to residents within our response zone. Outlying areas need to contact their local fire authority for information on burn permits. ***Please be advised, as of December 1, 2020, CAL Fire has not lifted the Burn Ban, so back yard burning is prohibited until further notice. All Burn Permit Applications will be considered invalid until the Burn Ban is lifted.***... Many of you will be receiving a card in the mail today or tomorrow explaining our burn permit process. While you can log onto https://www.bigsurfire.org/burn-permit-application and apply for your burn permit, you will not be able to report any burning until the burn ban is lifted. We will be updating our website and facebook page as soon as more information becomes available. As of today, there is no significant rain in the forecast, so please remain fire vigilant.

As first responders, our volunteers often encounter situations that are incredibly demanding of their physical and mental capabilities. From rescues, to vehicle accidents, to fatalities, these events can take a toll on the men and women in our organization. That is why Big Sur Fire has recognized the need to establish its own Health and Wellness Program so that we can offer support to our volunteers, who give to much to the community. To support Big Sur Fire and its Health and Wellness program, you can follow the link below to contribute to our MC Gives! campaign, running through December 31st. montereycountygives.com/bigsurfire

USFS Dolan and Coleman Fire Map 10-21

USFS Dolan and Coleman Fire Update 10-20

USFS Dolan And Coleman Fire Updates 10-19 USFS Dolan and Coleman Fire Map 10-19

In recognition of International ShakeOut Day, Big Sur Fire joined Pacific Valley School during an Earthquake Drill and reviewed the Drop, Cover, and Hold On plan with students. This is the type of community outreach that Big Sur Fire enjoys participating in and have missed so much during these last several months. We were happy to be welcomed, in a socially distant fashion, to have this positive interaction with the youth in our community.

USFS Dolan Fire Update 10-16 98% contained Due to the weather conditions, a previously known hot spot ignited yesterday along an unburned island east of Limekiln State Park. The fire ran upslope but burned into blackened areas previously burned during this incident. Fire was monitored by fire crews, and helicopter operations were in progress through the afternoon to protect the drainage areas and extinguish remaining fire.

USFS Dolan Fire Update 10-15-20 Expected Full Containment 10-17-20