Big Sur fires: State parks closed, some lodgings set to reopen

The fires burning near Big Sur has shut some lodges and state parks while others remain open keeping a wary eye on the blaze largely in Los Padres National Forest. (Click here for fire coverage.) Business openings and closures change hour by hour. Highway 1 remains closed from Esalen in the south up to the Ventana Inn & Spa on the north, requiring drivers from the south to access the coast via the 101 Freeway and Salinas.

Closures

Tassajara Zen Center in Carmel Valley: This inland site was evacuated Monday and has canceled all reservations through Tuesday. “We’re still hoping things will improve,” says spokeswoman Doris Harder from an office in San Francisco. She estimated the fire to be about three miles away and added that firefighters are at the center.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (the one with the big, mesmerizing waterfall), Andrew Molera State Beach and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park are closed until further notice, according to a California State Parks spokesman. “We hate to close them because people had plans, and they’ll do just about anything to keep those plans,” says parks spokesman Roy Stearns.

Parkland in Los Padres National Park is closed north of Nacimiento-Ferguson Road.

Post Ranch Inn, the upscale hotel on the cliffs above Big Sur, been closed this week but plans to reopen on Saturday, according to front desk agent Kelly Hay. “Some are canceling, some are keeping their reservations,” Hay said today. She said the fire is burning about six miles south of the inn.

Ventana Inn & Spa in Big Sur also has been closed this week and plan to reassess the situation with an eye toward reopening on Sunday, said customer agent Freda Plantin.

Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur has been closed and plans to reopen about 5 p.m. today.

Still open

Big Sur Lodge in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (which is closed) remains open, though the lodge is calling those with reservations and explaining the situation. “We’re going day by day, hour by hour,” said manager Rene Robles.

Editor’s note: For updates over the weekend see:

- the Tassajara Zen Center website, updated frequently by some of California’s most wired monks.

- the Sitting with Fire blog for “News about the wildfires threatening Tassajara and other helpful stuff for the dispersed workers.” Reporting daily from Jamesburg, Calif., just up the road from Tassajara Zen Center.

–Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Kirk Gafill, general manager of Nepenthe, points to the smoke-filled sky as he talks about the wildfire in Big Sur on Thursday. Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 2:17 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, Northern California, Outdoors & Adventure, Santa Barbara, Weekend Getaways. 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.