Hiker arrested after starting illegal camp fire in Big Sur

A traveling hiker was arrested after starting an illegal camp fire along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Michael Manneback of Cape Coral, Florida was illegally camping in the Partington Canyon area in Big Sur when he started a warming fire. The fire then caught sections of dry needles and grass on fire.

Several maintenance workers with California State Parks saw the smoke in the canyon, called it in and took action battling the blaze with shovels. A local resident from Partington Canyon also saw the vegetation fire and drove down to assist.

The Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade and U.S.Forest Service firefighters arrived to contained the blaze to a 100 foot by 100 foot section.

State Park Rangers and Sheriff deputies worked together to locate Manneback. He was arrested by the Monterey County Sheriffs Office and transported to the Monterey County Jail where charges are pending.

Cal-fire assisted with the fire investigation. The Sheriff’s office would like to extend a huge thanks to the quick action taken by the state park maintenance crew and Partington resident. They risked their lives by placing themselves in danger to suppress the spread of the fire. This bought time for local fire agencies to arrive and fully extinguish the vegetation fire.

This section of the Los Padres National Forest had not burned during the Soberanes Fire so there was still a lot of fuel. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office would like to advise the public that camp fires of any kind are not permitted outside Designated campfire use areas.