Willow Fire
Date(s)
  • June 17, 2021 (2021-06-17) –
  • July 12, 2021 (2021-07-12)
LocationVentana Wilderness, California
Coordinates36°12′25″N 121°33′36″W / 36.207°N 121.56°W / 36.207; -121.56
Statistics
Burned area2,877 acres (1,164 ha)
Ignition
CauseUnknown
Map
Willow Fire is located in California
Willow Fire
Location in Western California

The Willow Fire was a wildfire that burned in the Ventana Wilderness in Monterey County, California, in the United States as part of the 2021 California wildfire season. The fire started on June 17, 2021, burned 2,877 acres (1,164 ha), and was fully contained on July 12, 2021. The cause of the fire is under investigation and is currently unknown.[1]

Effects

The Willow Fire forced evacuations in the areas around Tassajara Road and Arroyo Seco Road in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. Various campgrounds, including the China Camp Campground and Arroyo Seco Campground, were forced to close.[2]

The fire threatened the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a buddhist monastery located deep in the mountains along the Big Sur coast.[3] Although much of the monastery was evacuated, a number of trained firefighters from the monastery known as "fire monks" stayed behind to help defend the monastery from the fire.[4] The fire monks cleared brush around the monastery and ran a sprinkler system they called "Dharma rain," while also coordinating with local authorities.[3][4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Willow Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  2. ^ "Willow Fire - Evacuation Warnings & Orders_June 21, 2021". InciWeb. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Lakshmi Sarah (June 21, 2021). "'Fire Monks' Prepared to Defend Tassajara Zen Center as Willow Fire Threatens". KQED News. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Diaz, Jaclyn (June 24, 2021). "Firefighting Monks Are Helping To Combat The Willow Fire In A Remote Area Of Big Sur". NPR. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "'Fire monks' ready to defend monastery from Big Sur blaze". Associated Press. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
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