Dolan Fire grows more than 3,000 acres as Highway 1 closure changes
San Luis Obispo County had a break from all gray skies early this week, but more smoke might be headed this way.
The U.S. Forest Service said air quality around the Dolan Fire has continued to improve day by day. However, a shift in winds was expected to move the smoke south once again.
The Dolan Fire near Big Sur has grown to 125,559 acres, according to the Forest Service.
The wildfire spread an additional 3,381 acres since Wednesday, and remained at 40% containment, the Forest Service reported.
The San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District forecasted that most regions of the county would experience moderate air quality Thursday into next week.
The northeast area of the county near the Cholame Y was expected to have air quality that was unhealthy for sensitive groups, according to the APCD.
As of Thursday, 19 structures had been destroyed by the Dolan Fire and four others damaged.
There were 785 firefighters with Cal Fire, the Forest Service and Fort Hunter Liggett on the scene Thursday, according to a Forest Service news release.
The Forest Service said crews continued burn operations on Thursday. Crews were expected to burn around structures in the Pacific Valley down to Highway 1 to increase structure protection.
Structure protection work was also being conducted in the Arroyo Seco and Tassajara areas, the Forest Service said.
Highway 1 closure shifts, evacuation orders remain
The Highway 1 closure was reduced to a smaller section from Gorda to Camaldoi Hermitage, near Lucia.
Prewitt Ridge, South Coast Ridge, Zone 26, Zone 24 and Zone 28 remained under evacuation orders.
An evacuation order was also issued for Zone 27, from Santa Lucia Road south to Del Venture Road and from Road 5 to Reliz Canyon.
Evacuation warnings remained in place for Fort Hunter-Liggett, South Lucia, Gorda, Salmon Creek, Zone 14 West, Zone 25 and Zone 29.
For updated information, visit the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services’ Dolan Fire Evacuation Zones map.
To receive emergency notifications regarding evacuations and critical events in Monterey County, sign up for A!ert Monterey County.
Additional volunteer and donation information can be found at MontereyCo.Recovers.org.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Dolan Fire grows more than 3,000 acres as Highway 1 closure changes."
