Big Sur fire: Part of Highway 1 to reopen soon

Fire and national forest officials are opening part of Highway 1 in Big Sur, from Palo Colorado Road to just south of Coast Gallery, to all traffic, starting at 6 p.m. today, according to a press release.

The scenic coastal route had been closed for 25 miles in both directions due to the Basin Complex Fire burning in the Big Sur area. The fire now is 41% contained.

Officials also said the stretch from Coast Gallery to the town of Lucia remains closed except for residents and service workers, but that the entire stretch would reopen 8 a.m. Sunday.

Farther inland, the fire swept around the Tassajara Zen Center but the building was spared because it was wrapped in fire shelter material, according to fire official Jeremy Hamilton. Also, the area had been cleared of brush and some of the buildings had been treated with a fire retardant, he said.

Eric Donovsky at Nepenthe, a popular eatery in the closure area, said the restaurant will be open completely for lunch and dinner as soon as the road opens. “It’s a beautiful day, just a little haze,” Donovsky said.

Big Sur Lodge, which is housing firefighters, said it would be open to walk-ins but that the restaurant, store and state park are still closed. All state parks in the area remain closed, according to a California State Parks spokesman.

The Ventana Inn & Spa, though spared, will not reopen until Aug. 1 due to damage to the landscaping and wilderness areas by firefighting efforts, according to the resort’s website. The Cielo restaurant will open for lunch beginning July 19 and lunch and dinner on July 22. Media spokeswoman Johanna Koch said the resort would honor reservations from Aug. 1 to 15, but begin taking new reservations on Aug. 15. “There’s lots of cleaning up to do,” she said.

Post Ranch Inn, meanwhile, will open July 18 and honor all reservations from that date on. “There is no damage at the Post Ranch Inn,” says founding partner Mike Freed, who was the only guest at the hotel on Friday.

Describing the area around the resort, Freed said morning fog had begun to improve the air quality, while the hills were burned of brush.

“There is a lot of blackness, and some of the trees are scarred, but they will all come back,” he said. Three of the resort’s employees lost homes in the weeks-long fires that have raged through the coastal area, but Freed’s own home above the Ventana Inn was spared.

The resort, known for its ecological practices and its luxury accommodations, was closed from June 22 to 28 after an evacuation order. It closed again on July 2 after a mandatory evacuation order cleared Big Sur.

The popular resort is usually 100% booked, often for months in advance, and Freed expects no diminished business as a result of the fires.

“The fire always stayed east of Highway 1. Post Ranch was never affected,” he said.

Visitors expecting to stay at the hotel in the near future are advised to call the hotel for updates.

–Mary Forgione and Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times staff writers

[Photo: Big Sur Lighthouse swathed in fog and smoke, by Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 5:29 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under Big Sur, California, California's Central Coast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.