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Soberanes Fire: Big Sur New Wildfire, New Rules

The Big Sur community gathered in an outdoor amphitheater on Wednesday night.  They sat surrounded by towering trees at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.  The beautiful scenery stood in stark contrast to the destruction of the fire not so far away.  

Frank Pinney took the microphone.  He's acting Fire Chief of the Big Sur Fire Brigade.

"Let me just ask a quick question: How many people have seen this before?" asked Pinney.  Nearly every hand went up.  "That is not a surprise," he continued.

Big Sur is no stranger to wildfires.  Back in 2008, the lightening caused Basin Complex Fire burned more than 160,000 acres and  destroyed 58 homes and outbuildings.

During that fire, some in this self reliant community felt they were forced to evacuate by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.   

"You have my word that we are not going to make the same mistake over again. We’re here to work with you," Sheriff Steve Bernal told the crowd.

"We will give you plenty of time. We’ll give you a warning and then we will give you an evacuation order. All I ask is, if you are not going to leave during the order, just please sign that piece of paper for us.  So if God forbid if something happens we can identify you," he continued.

People who refuse to evacuate during a mandatory evacuation order are asked to fill out a form with their name, address and contact information for next of kin.

Krista joined KAZU in 2007. She is an award winning journalist with more than a decade of broadcast experience. Her stories have won regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and honors from the Northern California Radio and Television News Directors Association. Prior to working at KAZU, Krista reported in Sacramento for Capital Public Radio and at television stations in Iowa. Like KAZU listeners, Krista appreciates the in-depth, long form stories that are unique to public radio. She's pleased to continue that tradition in the Monterey Bay Area.
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