With well-established fire breaks, the family was prepared for those.īut the Soberanes fire, sparked by an illegal campfire, is very different. The region’s previous fires, such as Basin Complex and Marble Cone, were caused by lightning, and arrived from the south.
“The important part, what everybody sees and recreates in, and where the memories are, that was saved,” Bruce Dormody, 50, said earlier this week, vacuuming the pool of debris. On Wednesday, Cal Fire choppers flew like red insects over the historic Big Sur Valley, as residents prayed for continued fog.Īs the fire raged near the ranch last week, the blaze incinerated about 1,320 acres of the Dormodys’ land, claiming one dilapidated 19th century cabin, a truck and some equipment.īut what mostly burned was wilderness. Three weeks old, the Soberanes fire is only 50 percent contained and may not be fully controlled until the end of August.Ĭalifornia’s largest wildfire is whipping through tinder-dry forests and brush, having consumed 57 homes and more than 68,000 acres. They pulled off a miracle,” said Chris Arnold of Carmel Valley, who arrived to check on his cabin. “Much respect and gratitude to the Dormodys for all of their hard work, skill and know-how. And grateful cabin owners know just whom to credit: The three middle-aged Dormody brothers - Bruce, Hank and Eric - risked their own safety along steep ridgelines to carve protective fire breaks, which were later expanded by 300 Cal Fire firefighters.
Not a single cabin burned in their idyllic valley - isolated in the deep creases of the Santa Lucia Mountains, only 16 miles southeast of bustling Carmel. CARMEL VALLEY - For 19 exhausting days, Bruce Dormody and his family fought to fend off the angry Soberanes fire that threatened to destroy their 2,600-acre vacation enclave.īut on Wednesday he was a genial receptionist, concierge and pool boy, as his San Clemente Rancho once again opened to owners of the retreat’s 103 vacation cabins that were spared catastrophe.Īsh drifting into serene turquoise waters of the community pool offered a vivid reminder of all that had been saved - and lost - to an inferno that claimed half of the Dormody family’s property and still remains out of control as it spreads southeast, perilously close to historic Big Sur.
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