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Big Sur fire

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12:33 PM PDT

GOLETA, Calif. -- The Gap fire looming over this town has grown to more than 2,400 acres this morning, doubling in size overnight as it burned for its third day.

Farther north, a dogged wildfire is bearing down on the storied seaside haven of Big Sur, and firefighters are gearing up this morning for a last stand against the flames while authorities prepare to order more evacuations. The blaze had swept within a half mile of at least one major resort -- the Ventana Inn and Spa -- by mid-morning, as winds whipped the coast, humidity dropped and the fire grew by more than 8,000 acres overnight.

The fires are among more than 1,000 that have burned in the state, largely in the north, for more than a week, stretching firefighting resources thin.

On Wednesday night, the Gap fire knocked out electricity for as long as four hours in a large swath of Santa Barbara County, but most of it was restored by midnight, said John Jaysinghe, a Santa Barbara County spokesman.

Burning acreage that has been untouched by flame since 1954, the fire has grown, coming within a mile of residences, but so far has not burned any homes. About 40 homes in two rural canyons remain evacuated today and another 300 are in an area that has been warned that evacuation orders may come.

Later this morning, Santa Barbara County supervisors are scheduled to ratify an emergency declaration, paving the way for formal requests of state and federal aid.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

In Big Sur, with the flames growing in intensity, fire officials were expected to order the evacuation of the Palo Colorado Canyon a few miles up the coast from the commercial center of Big Sur, which had been evacuated a day before.

Crews were spreading a protective gel on buildings at the Ventana Inn and Spa; there were unconfirmed reports that the fire this morning had already destroyed two homes in the hills above the inn.

Authorities say more than 1,700 structures are threatened by the Basin Complex fire, which has shut down Highway 1 along a 25-mile stretch of coastline from Limekiln State Park south of Lucia to Highway 1.

More than 1,500 residents have already been evacuated along with scores of tourists. Hundreds more are expected to be uprooted by this afternoon as firefighters struggle to stop the advancing flames.

The fire started during a lightning barrage that swept the north state June 21, and has burned more than 60,000 acres since then. Crews have struggled to control the flames amid tinderbox-dry brush and coastal trees, many of them hit by disease. The blaze is 3% contained.

The fire has been rough on the tourist-dependent economy. A number of famed resorts and restaurants that had briefly reopened found themselves back in harm's way Wednesday and had to shut down again.

The fire's spread also shut down about 30 miles of Highway 1 -- the coastal area's principal road. "Up until yesterday, I would have said it's a day-to-day situation," Kirk Gafill, the general manager of his family's six-decade-old Nepenthe restaurant, said Wednesday. "Now, I'd say it's minute to minute, or hour to hour."

Despite evacuation orders, about 12 of the 20 employees who live at the Nepenthe colony chose to stay along with Gafill.

Gafill, president of the local chamber of commerce, said most businesses on the rugged 70-mile cliff-side highway had closed. Workers applied a coating of fire-resistant gel to vulnerable homes and lodges as the unpredictable fire raged.

"It seems to be giving the fire guys conniption fits," said Darby Marshall, a spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. "It's doing things they normally wouldn't expect."

About 300 firefighters Wednesday mounted a campaign against the Gap fire in Santa Barbara County, using four helicopters and six air tankers to drop loads of water and chemical retardants. Much of the battle was conducted from the air as firefighters streamed in without a break from fires that have been raging across the state.

"Could we use more resources? Absolutely," Santa Barbara County Fire Chief John Scherrei said. "But California is stretched thin."

The blaze was about two miles west of the path of the 1990 Painted Cave fire, which burned 600 structures in 90 minutes.

"I remember how it jumped the freeway and people just had to scramble," said Christina Djernaes, 39, a lawyer who was heading home to pack her valuables just in case. "I don't want that to happen this time."

Celia Breyfogle, 75, and her husband Newell, 78, had already boxed up clothing, pictures and documents by Wednesday morning.

"It's been a terrible year," Celia Breyfogle said. "The Midwest is getting water, water, water, and we're getting fire, fire, fire. Wish we could all share."

Motorists on U.S. Highway 101 on Wednesday could see fingers of smoke working their way down the mountain about two miles north of the freeway.

The blaze started about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday near the Winchester Gun Club, said Capt. Eli Iskow, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Investigators on Wednesday had not yet pinpointed the cause.

In Northern California, firefighters continued to battle the numerous lightning-triggered wildfires that have burned more than 440,000 acres.

Across the northern part of the state, more than 1,700 fires have burned in less than two weeks, charring more than 506,000 acres. More than 20,000 firefighters have battled the blazes, and about 100 fires continue to burn.

The Basin Complex fire has been the most destructive. Despite the efforts of a force now numbering more than 1,600 firefighters, the Big Sur coast has suffered the confirmed loss of 17 homes. Statewide, 31 houses have been destroyed since the dry lightning storms hit a dozen days ago.

"For the first time in my life, I saw caravans of people in cars packed with their belongings heading out of the evacuation zone," Nepenthe's Gafill said Wednesday. "What I've seen on the news from many parts of the world was coming back to us."