Colorado Fire reaches 100% containment
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- UPDATE: 7:35 a.m. Containment of the Colorado Fire reaches 100% Wednesday morning. The fire is in patrol status, and damage inspection has been completed.
UPDATE: 7:50 a.m. 2/1/22 Cal Fire confirms that containment of the fire still remains at 98% and has burned 687 acres. Offshore winds are expected to hit the Big Sure Coastline today. Damage inspection of the fire is complete, and crews will continue fire suppression repair.
UPDATE 1/31/2022 7:30 a.m. Cal Fire confirms the Colorado fire is 98% contained at 687 acres.
UPDATE 1/30/2022 The Colorado fire is 95% contained and remains at 687 acres, according to Cal Fire. Damage inspection has been completed.
UPDATE 1/29/2022 Cal Fire confirms the Colorado Fire has reached 90% containment. The fire currently stands at 687 acres.
UPDATE: 6:01 p.m. 1/28/2022 Cal Fire said that containment of the Colorado Fire has reached 80% and remains at 700 acres.
UPDATE: 7:45 a.m. Cal Fire confirms the Colorado Fire has reached 75% containment. The fire still currently stands at 700 acres.
UPDATE: 8:40 a.m. 1/27/22 Cal Fire crews will mop up operations Thursday afternoon. Containment of the fire has reached 65% and remains at 700 acres.
UPDATE 12:03 P.M. 1/26/22: Evacuation orders have been lifted "effective immediately" for evacuees of the Colorado Fire.
The fire forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes back when it started on Jan. 21 near the Big Sur coast.
Cal Fire was able to pinpoint a cause of the fire, which was due to a pile burning operation gone wrong.
Cal Fire has not indicated who started the pile burning operation as well as who was watching over it when embers from that operation blew into nearby brush.
UPDATE: 7:45 a.m. 1/26/22 Firefighters continue to strengthen control lines and mop up hot spots. According to Cal Fire the fire is now 55% contained and remains at 700 acres. Weather is expected to remain favorable throughout Wednesday.
UPDATE 8:23 p.m. 1/25/22: Cal Fire crews have confirmed a pile burning operation gone wrong led to the Colorado Fire burning near Big Sur.
Cal Fire said gusty winds blew the embers from that operation, sparking the fire that grew to 700 acres. The fire is now 50% contained.
The fire has been burning in the Palo Colorado Canyon since Friday Jan. 21.
UPDATE 1/25/22 11:04 a.m.: Cal Fire is reporting no movement on the Colorado Fire, but an upgrade on containment.
As of Tuesday, fire crews report the fire is 50% contained and the fire stands at 700 acres.
In its daily report, CalFire said fire behavior was moderate overnight.
Onshore winds increased humidity along the coast, with similar conditions expected throughout Tuesday.
For now, fire crews are strengthening control lines and continuing to mop-up hot spots.
Evacuation orders are still in effect for parts of the Big Sur area as well as closures along Highway 1.
UPDATE 1/23/22 7:58 P.M. Cal Fire is now updating the acreage of the Colorado Fire to 700 acres at 35% containment. Cal Fire says the acreage has been reduced due to better mapping.
Power has been restored to the evacuation zone after Pacific Gas & Electric de-energized transmission lines when the fire started Friday night. PG&E said it has lost 15 poles and some cables in the fire.
Evacuation orders and the closure on Highway 1 are still in place.
The county says the evacuation shelter at Carmel Middle School will close at 7 a.m. on Monday, January 24. Those in need of shelter can call 211 for hotel accommodations. Pets are welcome but a valid ID is needed.
The county has also issued a boil water notice for the evacuation zone.
UPDATE 1/22/22 5:37 P.M.: The Colorado Fire in Monterey County has shrunk in size and is now at 1,050 acres.
CalFire says the acreage drop is due to improved mapping of the fire that has been burning near the Big Sur coast south of Carmel-by-the-Sea in the Palo Colorado Canyon.
Another bit of good news to report is that the fire is now 20% contained according to CalFire.
Saturday afternoon, CalFire commented on the improving conditions helping crews make "good progress" on the fire.
Despite this, evacuations are still in place as well as road closures.
Highway 1 is closed from the Andrew Molera State Park entrance to the Granite Canyon Bridge.
Evacuation orders are still in place for all areas West of 3800 Palo Colorado Road to Highway 1 and south to Bixby Creek.
Those who have evacuated can seek shelter at Carmel Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Rd, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923. The county says this shelter will close at 7 a.m. on Monday, January 24. Those in need of shelter can call 211 for hotel accommodations. Pets are welcome but a valid ID is needed.
UPDATE 1/22/22 1:14 P.M.: As the Colorado Fire continues to grow in Monterey County, our weather team is keeping tabs on conditions along the Big Sur coast.
According to Chief Meteorologist Dann Cianca and KION Forecaster Erika Bratten, smoke continues to kick up from the 1,500 acre fire.
All that smoke is being carried by southerly winds northward to the Monterey Peninsula.
Air quality could take a dip as a result but not enough to make major impacts, with air quality listed as "good" for Monterey and "moderate" for Big Sur.
Stronger onshore winds are expected, which could potentially cause some flare-ups, but our weather team says increasing moisture can put all that down quickly. A dryer offshore push after dark could lead to additional flare-ups.
Crews are attacking the fire with aircraft now and weather conditions aren't extreme, meaning we could see some significant progress made on the fire today.
That said, the wind could always bring a surprise or two, which CalFire and other agencies will have to contend with as they try to add on to the 5% containment they currently have on the fire.
Despite the above, evacuation orders are still in place for all areas West of 3800 Palo Colorado Road to Highway 1 and south to Bixby Creek.
Those who have evacuated can seek shelter at Carmel Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Rd, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923
UPDATE 1/22/22 10:00 A.M.: CalFire is reporting that the Colorado Fire has grown to 1,500 acres, but there's some good news, too, as we're starting to see some containment.
CalFire's incident report shows the fire burning south of Carmel-by-the-Sea in the Palo Colorado Canyon is 5% contained.
It's currently unknown how this fire started.
UPDATE 10:08 P.M. 1/21/22: CalFire has confirmed at least 50 structures have been evacuated after strong winds have pushed a large fire that has grown to 75 to 100 acres.
CalFire says evacuations are in place from Palo Colorado Road south to Rocky Creek Bridge.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office has issued a mandatory evacuation order for all areas West of 3800 Palo Colorado Road to Highway 1 and south to Bixby Creek.
The fire started around 7:16 p.m., according to CalFire, and has pushed west thanks to gusty winds.
13 agencies are currently battling the fire with more resources on the way.
CalTrans District 5 says Highway 1 closure has been extended from Rio Road all the way to the entrance of Andrew Molera State Park as agencies rush to battle this fire.
UPDATE: Highway 1 is now closed in both directions from near the entrance to Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur to Rio Road in Carmel due to a brush fire. Please drive safely and be aware of all emergency responders.@PIOJimShivers
— Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) January 22, 2022
Quickmap@dot.ca.gov https://t.co/S41J1xyZ1R
Monterey County and the American Red Cross are teaming up to help those in need of shelter tonight:
An American Red Cross Shelter will be be available beginning at 11:30 pm at Carmel Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Rd, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923
ORIGINAL STORY
Fire crews are responding to a fire burning in the Palo Colorado Canyon Area of Monterey County.
The fire can be seen on Alert Wildfire cameras pushing up a plume of smoke.
The California Highway Patrol has this fire located off Palo Colorado Road east of the Bixby Bridge and Highway 1.
A Monterey County Sheriff's Office spokesperson confirmed they're assisting with the fire and are standing by if evacuations are necessary.
We have reached out to CalFire for more on if structures are threatened at this time and the damage the fire has caused so far.
This is a developing story
