BIG SUR, Calif. (KGO) -- A bolstered firefighting force made gains Tuesday against an unusual fall wildfire that has destroyed 15 homes and forced about 100 people to flee the forested mountains of the scenic Big Sur region overlooking the Pacific.
The fire in Los Padres National Forest near state Highway 1 grew by only 50 acres overnight to 550 acres, and was 5 percent contained, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Lynn Olson said.
Additional firefighters were brought in, bringing the total force to about 400, she said. The fire was also being fought from the air.
Among homes destroyed in the fire was that of Big Sur Fire Chief Martha Karstens.
'I just haven't absorbed it. Right by my front door,' Karstens said.
She's had her home for 23 years and says this area hasn't burned in 100 years.
The terrain in the Los Padres National Forest is steep and rugged and hard to access.
The fire began around midnight Sunday, fueled by dry vegetation and fanned by winds. It was burning a little more than a mile from the Ventana Inn and Spa, a favorite spot among celebrities where former Facebook president and Napster co-founder Sean Parker got married in June.
It's been a hard fight since the fire broke out, but firefighters are finally making some progress.
'Today our main goal is going to be structure protection with all the residents in and around the fire area and then establishing and strengthening our control line and anchor points around the fire,' said Mark Nunez with the US Forest Service.
The US Forest Service says crews are protecting 200 homes and 20 commercial buildings still technically in harm's way.
But the weather is on their side. A spokesman told ABC7 News it would take a major shift for the structures to actually burn.
The threat is enough that dozens of people have been forced from their homes and others are standing by ready to do the same.
'We already have some suitcases packed in case we have to leave. And we're just waiting for them to tell us to evacuate,' Big Sur resident Guadalupe Serrano said.
The Red Cross set up an overnight shelter for displaced people, said Los Padres National Forest spokesman Andrew Madsen.
A wildfire so late in the year is unusual in Northern California, where the fire season is generally at its peak over the summer. A lightning-sparked wildfire in the summer of 2008 forced the evacuation of Big Sur and blackened 250 square miles before it was contained. That blaze burned more than a dozen homes.
But like the rest of the state, the Big Sur area has received little rainfall this year, increasing the fire danger.
Still, officials said they were hopeful they could contain the blaze this week.
'We're cautiously optimistic that we're going to pin this thing down within the next couple of days,' Madsen said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
news3blog.blogspot.com contributed to this story.
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