Big Sur tourism takes a hit from Dolan Fire

BIG SUR, Calif. (KION) On Thursday, helicopters pulled water from the ocean and used it to put out flames that still burn deep in the hills near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.

Fire crews can be found at nearly every turnaround on Highway 1, South of Partington Ridge Road.

Big Sur Fire Chief, Matt Harris, said 951 personnel have come to the area to put out the flames. "The process for bringing all these resources in is complex to say the least," said Harris.

The Dolan Fire sparked days after several other major fires on the Central Coast. This depleted resources and forced Big Sur to look into other options. "We were pulling resources from all over the country to come hep us. It's a slow process with travel time and the resources requests," said Harris.

It's unclear if any structures have been damaged, but miles from the blaze, the Big Sur River Inn is still feeling the heat. "This is something we've experienced many times in the past, but we could've done without it this year, frankly," said Big Sur River Inn general manager, Rick Aldinger.

The Big Sur River Inn survived the COVID-19 pandemic and business was finally picking back up. Aldinger said reservations were cancelled when news of the fire spread.

"It was so heartbreaking to have to tell my staff that we don't have hours for them, yet again. It's hard for them. It's hard for the businesses," said Aldinger.

In the meantime, The Big Sur River Inn is housing some fire crews so they can stay near to battle the flames.