The Dolan Fire was a large wildfire that burned in the Big Sur region and other parts of the Santa Lucia mountain range in Monterey County, California, in the United States as part of the 2020 California wildfire season. The fire began at approximately 8:15 p.m. on August 18, 2020. On September 8, 15 firefighters were injured, one critically,[4][5] when they were forced to deploy emergency fire shelters at Nacimiento Station.[6] Ten adult California condors and two chicks died in the blaze, which began about a mile south of the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary in Monterey County.[7] The nonprofit Ventana Wildlife Society of Monterey lost a sanctuary that has been used to release the captive-bred condors into the wild since 1997. While no people or condors were at the 80-acre (32 ha) site, a research building, pens, and other facilities were destroyed.[8]

The fire burned parts of the Ventana Wilderness, Fort Hunter Liggett,[9] along Nacimiento-Fergusson Road,[10] and forced the closure of many area state parks as well as a section of California State Route 1.[11] As of December 31, 2020, the fire has been fully contained.[1] According to the D.A, the estimated cost of fighting the fire was $63 million.[12] The fire also destroyed the USFS Nacimiento Ranger Station.

During winter storms following the fire, entire sections of the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road were washed away, and it has remained closed since then. In January 2022, U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta announced that he had obtained $126 million in Federal Highway Administration funds to repair the road and rebuild the USFS Nacimiento Ranger Station destroyed in the blaze. This includes replacing the fire station, barracks, engine garage and pumphouse, along with some site utilities, such as a water well, solar connections and access roads.[13]

The Dolan fire was started by arson,[14] and Ivan Gomez was arrested in connection with the fire and convicted of arson subsequent to his confession.[15] Gomez claimed he lit the fire to hide five murders, but his mental competency, the true intentionality of the arson, and the actual existence of bodies were put in question.[16] On September 23, 2020, a judge ruled that he was competent to stand trial.[17] He was convicted in April 2022 of 16 felony counts, including arson and cruelty to animals.[18] In May 2022, he was sentenced to 24 years in state prison.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Dolan Fire". InciWeb. September 13, 2020. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  2. ^ Garibay, Cassandra (September 10, 2020). "Dolan Fire near Big Sur passes 100,000 acres, 14 structures destroyed". The Tribune. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Ives, Mike (May 20, 2022). "Man Gets 24 Years for Starting Wildfire That Killed California Condors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Allen, Rob. "Statement Regarding Shelter Deployment". InciWeb. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "BIG SUR DOLAN FIRE RELIEF FUND". Community Association of Big Sur. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  6. ^ McIntyre, Ashton (September 8, 2020). "15 firefighters injured during shelter deployment while battling the Dolan Fire". KSBY. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Carlson, Cheri. "California condor population suffers worst year in decades after deadly wildfire". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "Fate of California condors unknown after sanctuary burns". NBC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 26, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "Dolan Fire breaches Fort Hunter Liggett, 3 firefighters injured". Paso Robles Daily News. September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Dickinson, Laura (September 12, 2020). "Dolan Fire near Big Sur grows more than 2,400 acres overnight". San Luis Obispo Tribune. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Forgione, Alex; Reynolds, Christopher (September 9, 2020). "Highway 1, 30 state parks and 18 national forests in California now closed: What you need to know". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Solis, Nathan (May 20, 2022). "Man sentenced to 24 years for setting Big Sur wildfire that killed 12 endangered condors". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Remote Calif. fire station destroyed by Dolan Fire to be rebuilt". FireRescue1. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  14. ^ Shalev, Asaf (August 27, 2020). "Arson arrest near Dolan Fire origin points to 'cartel-style' cannabis grow". Monterey County Weekly. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  15. ^ Szydlowski, Joe (August 19, 2020). "Monterey County deputies arrested arson suspect in 113,000-acre Big Sur fire". The Californian. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  16. ^ Cimini, Kate. "Man who claims he lit Dolan Fire to hide murders undergoing mental health evaluation". The Salinas Californian. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  17. ^ Duan, Mary (September 23, 2020). "Suspect accused of sparking the massive Dolan Fire is found competent to stand trial". Monterey County Weekly. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  18. ^ Smith, Hayley (April 8, 2022). "Man convicted of setting Big Sur wildfire that killed 12 endangered condors". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.


Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolan_Fire
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