FRIDAY, July 22:
8:48 am: A hiker calls 911 to report seeing smoke in Garrapata State Park. The fire is 5 acres.
11am: The fire doubles in size to 10 acres.
2pm: The fire burns 153 acres, and 150 firefighters are assigned to battle the blaze.
3pm: Officials close Palo Colorado Road and Garrapata Ridge Road.
9:30pm: Residents of Palo Corona and Garrapata Ridge are ordered to evacuate. Some people decide to stay overnight at the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp.
10pm: Urban firefighters respond and evaluate Palo Colorado homes, leaving notices on every mailbox with notes about defensible space and available water sources, like fire hoses.
11pm: The Red Cross sets up a shelter for evacuees at Carmel Middle School.
Midnight: The fire burns 2,000 acres and is at 0-percent containment.
SATURDAY, July 23:
9am: The Boy Scouts evacuate in tour buses.
11am: The fire burns 1,800 acres and remains 0-percent contained.
12pm: Cal Fire’s Incident Management Team No. 4 assumes command of the fire.
2pm: The fire burns 3,000 acres and remains 0-percent contained. Winds shift, moving the fire northeast toward Carmel Highlands.
2pm: Officials issue an evacuation advisory to Carmel Highlands residents from Corona Road to Malpaso Creek.
6:30pm: The fire burns 6,500 acres, and Cal Fire reports 5-percent containment. A total of 780 firefighters are assigned.
7:12pm: Power goes out in most of Big Sur, from Malpaso Creek to the Esalen Institute, due to the fire.
Midnight: PG&E restores power.
SUNDAY, July 24:
7am: The fire burns 10,262 acres and remains 5-percent contained.
2pm: The fire moves east and northeast, approaching homes at the top of Corona Road in Carmel Highlands.
3:30pm: Cal Fire issues mandatory evacuations for people living along Old Coast Road at Highway 1 to Old Coast Road at Bixby Creek Road.
3:30pm: Evacuation advisories are issued for residents on the Carmel Valley side of the mountains in Rancho San Carlos, White Rock and Rancho San Clemente.
6:19pm: Officials issue an evacuation advisory for the southern half of Old Coast Road.
7pm: The fire burns 11,000 acres and remains 5-percent contained. 1,367 firefighters are assigned.
7pm: Cal Fire officials confirm the fire has destroyed six houses and two outbuildings.
MONDAY, July 25:
7am: The fire burns 14,897 acres and remains 5-percent contained. 1,400 firefighters are assigned. Cal Fire officials confirm the fire has destroyed 20 homes and two outbuildings. The U.S. Forest Service joins Cal Fire in unified command.
12pm: Officials close the southern half of Old Coast Road in Big Sur and Robinson Canyon Road south of Penon Peak Trail in Carmel Valley.
12:30pm: A utility pole on Highway 1 in Big Sur catches fire in an unrelated incident. Power goes out for about 100 residents. PG&E immediately replaces the pole, and the highway is re-opened within two hours.
3:30pm: Carmel Highlands residents are ordered to evacuate from Corona Road and Riley Ranch Road.
6pm: Cal Fire, Monterey County and the U.S. Forest Service co-host a community meeting for residents affected by the fire at Carmel River Elementary School.
7pm: The fire burns 16,100 acres and is 10-percent contained. Cal Fire officials report they expect to contain the fire by Aug. 5, later than their projection of July 31 earlier in the day.
TUESDAY, July 26:
7am: The fire burns 19,311 acres and is 10-percent contained. Cal Fire reports an additional 300 structures are threatened. 2,305 firefighters are assigned.
12pm: Officials announced all California State Parks in Big Sur from Point Lobos Reserve to Julia Pfeiffer Burns will be closed. The Monterey district of Los Padres National Forest is also shut down.
2:30pm: Santa Lucia Reserve residents on Rancho San Carlos between Canter Run and Garzas Trail are evacuated.
5:25pm: Acting Governor Tom Torlakson declares a state of emergency in Monterey County.
Early Evening: Cal Fire reports a group of seven lost hikers are rescued. They Monterey County Sheriff's Office confirms they were illegal marijuana growers escaping the fire; they were not arrested because the evidence, some 900 marijuana plants, were burned.
7pm: The fire burns 23,500 acres and is 10-percent contained. 2,988 firefighters are assigned.
Overnight: 35-year-old Robert Oliver Reagan III, of Friant, California, is killed in a rollover accident while driving a bulldozer.
WEDNESDAY, July 27:
7am: The blaze burns 23,568 acres and is 10-percent contained with 3,079 firefighters on the effort. Cal Fire reports an additional 350 structures are threatened, a total of 2,000.
7am: Cal Fire reports a Serious Accident Investigation Team is assigned to investigate the fatal accident Tuesday night.
7am: Cal Fire officials say they expect to contain the fire by Aug. 31, a month later than their original projection of July 31, and three weeks later than their Monday night projection of Aug. 5.
2pm: The area under mandatory evacuation orders expands to include Robinson Canyon Road from San Clemente Trail to White Rock Gun Club, and south of San Clemente Trail from Robinson Canyon Road to the San Clemente Gate House. The area under an evacuation advisory expands to include the area north of Dormondy Road to include the community of San Clemente.
6pm: Officials from Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, Monterey County Sheriff's Office and Monterey County hold a community meeting at the Big Sur Lodge.
7pm: The blaze burns 23,688 acres (including 2,690 acres of U.S. Forest Service lands) and remains at 10-percent containment, with 3,516 firefighters assigned to the fire.
7pm: Cal Fire confirms a total of 44 structures have been destroyed, 34 homes and 10 outbuildings. An additional two residences and two outbuildings have been damaged.
THURSDAY, July 28:
7am: The fire burns 27,326 acres, including 5,074 acres of federal land. The fire remains 10-percent contained.
6pm: Officials from Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, Monterey County Sheriff's Office and Monterey County hold a community meeting at Carmel Valley Middle School.
7pm: The fire burns 29,877 acres, including 7,097 acres of federal land. The fire is now 15-percent contained. Officials report a total of 51 structures have been destroyed, 41 homes and 10 outbuildings.
FRIDAY, July 29:
7am: The blaze burns 31,3886 acres and remains 15-percent contained with 4,277 firefighters on the effort.
4pm: Officials lift the evacuation order for Carmel Highlands neighborhoods and allow residents to return to homes on Corona Road and Riley Ranch Road.
7pm: The fire has burned 32,930 acres and remains 15-percent contained. 5,053 firefighters are on the effort. Officials report 57 homes and 11 outbuildings have been destroyed.
SATURDAY, July 30:
7am: The blaze burns 33,668 acres and remains 15-percent contained with 5,053 firefighters on the effort.
Afternoon: Officials set up a second post at Rancho Cañada in Carmel Valley, in addition to Toro Park, to serve firefighters between shifts.
6pm: Officials hold a community meeting at Carmel High School.
7pm: The blaze burns 35,540 acres and is 15-percent contained. More than 10,000 acres of the Los Padres National Forest has burned. 5,343 firefighters are on the effort.
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