Big Sur News

A wildfire near Santa Barbara, California, is now 35% contained, and more than 2,000 residents who had to evacuate over the weekend have been allowed back home.

BIG SUR -- As flames swirled toward their family homestead, the Curtis brothers figured they'd get no help and had no choice: The only way to hold on to their 55-acre compound would be to fight fire with fire.

The Basin Complex fire burning near Big Sur has calmed down somewhat today with cooler temperatures and higher humidity.

Firefighter Vince Felix burns a hillside with a drip torch during a backfire operation along Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif., Sunday, July 6, 2008.

California firefighters said they were hopeful Monday that the two biggest wildfires in the state were coming under control and wouldn't threaten more homes.

Firefighter Brian Britton, of Ojai, Calif., throws flares unto a hillside during a backburn operation along Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif., Sunday, July 6, 2008.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection called in major air support yesterday and the DC-10 Airtanker delivered, offloading nearly 100,000 pounds of fire retardant in one run near the northern ...

Tired of waiting for timely, detailed information about the fires threatening their homes, some residents of this scenic coastal community are using the Web to publish firsthand reports from behind the fire ...

Hundreds of people were forced from their homes Friday by a growing wildfire near Santa Barbara in Southern California.

Firefighters got a gift of a mild, mostly windless night and a forecast for similar conditions Sunday as they attempted to protect thousands of Santa Barbara County homes from a huge wildfire with their energy ...

Bill Lovejoy/Sentinel Boulder Creek turns out a good crowd for the towns parade on Highway 9 Friday.

Associated Press A firefighter uses a special gun to start a backfire on a wildfire burn Thursday in Big Sur, Calif.

GOLETA, Calif. -- Driven overnight by 'sundowner' winds that gusted to 50 mph, the Gap fire grew to more than 8,300 acres, but by morning was 24% contained, fire officials said.

Firefighters in California have fended off a blaze threatening more than 3,000 homes in and around the coastal town of Goleta and are turning their attention to preventing its spread toward the nearby ...

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office Thursday extended the mandatory evacuations along state Highway 1 in Big Sur due to the Basin Complex Fire to include the area between Palo Colorado Canyon Road and the town ...

Shooting At Sonic Teen Distracted, Causes Accident Independence Day Celebrations Larry Harmon, who played the character Bozo the Clown, is dead at the age of 83.

A huge wildfire still threatens Big Sur, California, but a blaze farther south has doubled in size.

A pair of out-of-control wildfires roared along California's central coast Friday, chewing through opposite ends of a parched forest and threatening a total of more than 4,500 homes.

While flames from the stubborn fire in the northern flank of the Los Padres National Forest inched closer to Big Sur's historic vacation retreats, firefighters farther south braced for the return of evening winds that a day earlier caused a wildfire in Santa Barbara County to double in size and race dangerously close to hundreds of homes.

The Big Basin Complex Fire continued to move toward Highway 1 in Big Sur on Friday July 4, 2008.

Some Big Sur residents are defying evacuation orders and trying to save their homes and businesses from the wildfire bearing down on the scenic coastal community.