MODIS map of the Colorado Fire in Big Sur, California on Saturday Morning
Note: 1,500 Pixels Wide
MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program Frequently Asked Questions
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Evening Update Per CAL FIRE: #ColoradoFire off Palo Colorado Canyon, Big Sur, south of Carmel-by-the-sea in Monterey County is at 1,050 acres, with 20% containment. Updated acreage due to better mapping. In Unified Command with CAL FIRE BEU and Mid Coast Fire.
Update 8:20 A.M. Per CAL FIRE: New Incident: #ColoradoFire off Palo Colorado Canyon, Big Sur, south of Carmel-by-the-sea in Monterey County is in the 1,500 acres range and 5% contained.
Per Caltrans District 5: Highway 1 remains closed this morning from Andrew Molera State Park in the Big Sur area to Rio Road in Carmel due to the #ColoradoFire. There is no estimate for opening. Traveler information at: Quickmap.dot.ca.gov
Per the National Weather Service:
as of 3:45 AM PST Saturday...Colorado Fire started last evening near Palo Colorado Rd/canyon in Big Sur. Fire has remained stubbornly active overnight. Pictures on social media suggest some pretty surreal fire behavior given the wet Oct and Dec that was observed across the region with multiple AR events. Looking at historical fire data it appears the fire is burning south of Palo Colorado and towards Bixby Creek along Long Ridge in an area with little or no fire history (the 2008 Basin, 2016 Soberanes and 2013 Pfeiffer fire didn`t burn here and not even the 1977 Marble Cone or 1999 Kirk Complex). Anecdotally it seems as though the long term drought is acting like a chronic illness where even recent rains and cold winter wx isn`t helping to keep fires from developing. Looking back at last evening the fire appeared to start during the peak offshore winds and very low humidity. The strongest offshore winds have now ended in the vicinity of the Colorado Fire. As of 3 am the current weather is showing RH values 42-52% with southerly winds around 5 mph. These light south winds will represent a potential change that residents and firefighters should monitor today. As these offshore wind events end (and strengthen in SoCal in the form of Santa Ana) we often see southerly wind reversals come back up the coastline. The fire is so close to the ocean that some locally gusty south winds could poke around Pt Sur towards Bixby Creek/Bridge and potentially induce the fire back towards Palo Colorado. Watch out for slope reversals. Winds look to turn back to light northeast tonight with better humidity recovery. Then some more light southerly winds Sunday with light offshore Sunday night. No rain in the forecast the next 7 days or so. Even a marine intrusion up Palo Colorado into the redwoods would help at some point early next week but too hard to pinpoint in January as we are not in the climatological season for marine surges. Did look at fuels charts and values showing near normal, which normally means things dont actively burn in January.
