Strong Wind — Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast, California

2022-01-21 · Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast, California

Event narrative

Strong offshore winds led to a 687 acre fire (Colorado Fire) in Palo Colorado Canyon, sparked by an uncontrolled pile burn. One yurt was damaged and about 500 people were evacuated from about 1100 structures. The fire spread from the canyon down to Highway 1 near the Bixby Creek Bridge, causing a 21 mile section of the highway to be shut down for over a week (between the entrance to Andrew Molera Park in Big Sur to Rio Road in Carmel). No injuries or fatalities were reported. The fire was 100 percent contained on Feb 5th.

Wider weather episode

An Inside Slider type low pressure system tracked through the Great Basin, leading to a steep surface pressure gradient from the Great Basin to the eastern Pacific Ocean. A High Wind Warning was issued for the North Bay Mountains and Wind Advisories were issued for much of the SF Bay Area and Santa Cruz Mountains for the period Jan 21st-22nd. Gusts over 50 mph were reported at Oakland Airport and Half Moon Bay with gusts over 60 mph in higher peaks of North Bay and East Bay. Two small wildfires were ignited in Sonoma County causing minimal damage and a much larger, more destructive wildfire ignited and spread in Big Sur on the evening of the 21st, leading to evacuations. No wind products covered the Big Sur area since offshore winds were relatively light there.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 995846. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.