Warmer, drier weather could impact Dolan Fire growth
BIG SUR, Calif. (KION) With the Dolan Fire still burning eastward into the Ventana Wilderness, there are new concerns about hotter, drier weather expected this weekend.
A new fire incident team transitioned into the Incident Command Post at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park's campgrounds on Wednesday where over 900 firefighting personnel have been holed up battling the Dolan Fire.
The north and southern ends of the fire, which have more structures, seem to be getting more contained now.
"Now, they're starting to focus on the east side of the fire, where it's burning actively now," said Richard Thompson, a National Weather Service incident meteorologist for the Dolan Fire. "So they can transfer some of those resources from the north and south side and put them in the east side and start trying to get a better handle on the rest of the fire."
Fire officials say the marine layer near the coast brought in low clouds and fog, which has helped firefighters. But they have also seen warm and dry conditions above that layer.
"Interior sections of the fire where it's warmer and drier, the fire has been getting more active (Wednesday) afternoon. If you're driving along, you can see smoke plumes off in the distance," said Thompson.
Meteorologists are more worried about the next coming days, when a large area of high pressure will build over the region.
"And that's going to usher in some very hot and dry conditions that will develop over the weekend," said Matt Mehle, a fire weather meteorologist at the NWS station in Monterey.
Those conditions make it easer for fires to spread. And it also puts a physical burden on firefighters, who have to deal with the heat.
"They take a lot of precautions. They make sure they drink plenty of water and Gatorade to stay hydrated," said Thompson. "They'll make sure to take proper breaks to give their bodies a chance to rest a little bit."
Good news: the NWS says they do not expect any lightning strikes or high wind events, even as the heatwave goes through.
"We're looking for definitely a warming and drying trend. We have high pressure building over the entire West Coast, going to bring very hot and very dry conditions both to our fire and elsewhere across the region," said Thompson. "In fact, there's an Excessive Heat Watch in effect for this area from Saturday morning through Monday afternoon."
PREVIOUS STORY: Warmer weather along with drier conditions expected in the coming days could make an impact on how big the Dolan Fire grows along Highway 1.
The fire is at least 30,000 acres and 25 percent contained. Officials say they are closing in on the north end of the fire, but terrain and other challenges have made it more difficult to contain elsewhere.
Evacuation orders for the Partington area in Big Sur have been reduced to warnings as of Wednesday morning.
KION's Josh Kristianto will have more tonight at 5 and 6 p.m.
