The Carmel Fire erupted Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 18, quickly burning more than 1,000 acres with zero-percent containment on day one. Structures were destroyed at Sky Ranch within hours, but the good news was that many were saved.
Come Wednesday morning, there was a feeling of relief as things appeared quiet. But that changed by the afternoon. Alerts from Cachagua Fire began in rapid succession: At 2:16pm, the area under evacuation orders expanded drastically, to encompass all of Cachagua.
Then at 2:18pm the fire district reported: "Structures are being lost at Sky Ranch."
Then, more news followed at 2:24pm: "A civilian is being evacuated with severe burns from the Asoleado area." The Asoleado area is a community off Cachagua Road.
An update came at 5:31pm: "We are currently working on extricating a resident that is trapped on Trampa Canyon."
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders for the following areas: Cachagua Road from Asoledo Drive to Tassajara Road to include Trampa Canyon Road and tributaries; areas eest of Tassajara Road to Miller Canyon (not including Miller Canyon); Tassajara Road from Miller Canyon to East Carmel Valley Road, including Chew’s Ridge, Kincannon Road, Lambert Flat, Parrot Ranch Road and tributaries; Tassajara Road west to Miller Canyon (not including Miller Canyon); and areas east of East Carmel Valley Road at Tassajara Road to Cahoon Ranch Road (including Martin Road and Cahoon Ranch Road).