Marble Cone Fire Footprint

The fire destroyed 178 000 acres but thankfully there were no lives lost or structures destroyed.

Marble cone fire footprint.

Firefighters at the marble cone fire in big sur on august 15 1977. Monterey county herald archives 12 laguna september 1970 san diego 175 425 acres 382 structures destroyed 5 deaths. The fire was started as the result of a lightning strike during a thunderstorm. Griffin comments on the recovery of forests 10 months after the fire as well as touching on other interesting topics including the pre marble cone history of fire in the santa lucia mountains.

As of september 17 the fire has burned 1 862 acres 754 ha and is 96 percent contained. In 1962 a bear was hit by a car on bear creek road in orinda. The largest fire rehabilitation team has been meeting in king city 45 miles southeast of salinas since last weekend to combat the aftermath of the 88 400acre marble cone fire in the los padres. By the time it was extinguished it had burned about 178 000 acres in the santa lucia mountains known as the ventana wilderness making it the largest wildfire in recorded california history at that time.

Oak and madrone branches broke from the snow s weight later acting as ladder fuels that spread the fire into the trees where it then crowned causing much more damage to ponderosa and sugar pines than would a normal ground fire. We were interested to read that 6 000 firefighters were engaged in putting out the marble cone fire which just like the basin complex began on a day when lightning started hundreds of fires throughout. 1977 the marble cone fire started on august 1 1977 and was started by lightning. The marble cone fire was a wildland fire which burned for three weeks in august 1977 in the santa lucia mountains high country at the big sur area of monterey county california by the time it was extinguished it had burned about 178 000 acres 720 km 2 in the santa lucia mountains known as the ventana wilderness making it the largest wildfire in recorded california history at that time.

The marble cone fire was a wildland fire which burned for three weeks in august 1977 in the big sur high country. In 1977 the marble cone fire may have been unusually destructive because of heavy snowfall in 1974. The marble cone fire was a wildland fire which burned for three weeks in august 1977 in the big sur high country. The fire burned from cone peak to carmel valley and consumed most of the vegetation within the entire big sur and little sur river watersheds.

Wildlife experts believe the mother bear fled its home to escape a catastrophic wildfire known then as the marble cone fire.