Two months after major wildfires blackened nearly a quarter of a million acres of its forest land, Big Sur has returned to a normal tourist hum, and a mild Indian summer has set in.
But longtime residents worry about the badly scorched land and the flooding and mudslides that could come with winter rains.
Although government agencies say help is on the way, disaster-weary residents worry that it won't be enough and may come too late to stave off the potentially catastrophic effects -- not just on tourist spots but on the crucial artery of Highway 1.
Other fire-ravaged communities across California are faring better.
Near Goleta, more than 9,000 acres of rugged terrain stripped of vegetation in the Gap fire soon will be coated aerially with a glue-like substance that is embedded with fertilizer.
The mixture of wood and paper fibers, water and a plant-based binder will absorb rainwater and coax faster regrowth of native chaparral, said Tom Fayram, Santa Barbara County's deputy director of public works.
In Butte County, state Office of Emergency Services crews are fanning out to review the burn damage and suggest needed repair, said agency spokeswoman Tina Walker. The Telegraph fire that briefly threatened Yosemite National Park is not expected to pose any significant flooding risk, federal officials say.
As for Big Sur, a federal fix-it plan promised at the end of August has yet to be produced, said Lisa Kleissner, spokeswoman for the Coast Property Owners Assn., representing 1,500 homes in the area. Residents are dependent on the federal report because 83% of the burned area is in national forests.
"All the main businesses and many homes are threatened, but in particular between Big Sur campground and Big Sur River Inn," Kleissner said. "We can't do work on lands that aren't ours, even though it would impact our properties."
Rainfall in the Big Sur area typically begins in October and averages 43 inches a year.
Phil Yenovkian of Monterey County's Office of Emergency Services said his office's effort can't start before the federal plan. "Our action list," he said, "will be based on a document that we are still waiting for."
Kathy Good, a spokeswoman for the Los Padres division of the U.S. Forest Service, said the federal report, produced by the Burned Area Emergency Response team, is still being reviewed but should be ready by mid-September. "I'm sure people are getting anxious about the winter season," Good said. "They will turn it around as quickly as they can."
