www.montereycountynow.com OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 4, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 29 learned from the summer’s two fires and where to go from here as forecasts of a very strong El Niño were shaping up. “I think we all know how the Timber Fire started,” U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, said at the meeting. “A minor, by himself at a campfire. It got out of hand.” Locals, including McCoy, who has patrolled the area in recent years to warn visitors of high fire risk, point to a rise in illegal campfires. Big Sur Fire Chief Matt Harris said visitation at the Timber Top campground, where the fire began, had reached unprecedented levels. Marcus Foster, founder of the nonprofit Keep Big Sur Wild, first noticed the trend in 2018 and 2019, when he was captain of the nonprofit Big Sur Fire brigade. “We have 10 times the visitation we had 50 years ago, and there’s literally like half of the staff,” he says, attributing the shortfall broadly to reduced federal resources. “It’s not like this is something new, but it’s just a mixture of a free-for-all, especially at night, and no law enforcement patrolling the highway, the ridges or anything in the backcountry.” Through Keep Big Sur Wild, Foster advocates for the Big Sur Land Use Plan, in particular, arguing for responsible tourism and reiterating “physical access should not come at the expense of the landscape itself.” While the community is known for its self-reliance, acknowledging road closures and fires are part of the way of life in Big Sur, they argue tourism’s negative impacts are preventable—and that local government has a role to play. Kate Daniels is the Monterey County supervisor representing District 5, a sprawling region that includes the entire Big Sur coast. She has pushed to protect the viewshed and manage the growing wave of visitors. Along with Diehl and Planning Commissioner Jessica Hartzell, she moved forward on solutions after residents and local businesses raised concerns about safety and workers’ ability to commute from Monterey to Big Sur. Getting the California Coastal Commission to support the parking moratorium was a main point of friction; the agency responded with a letter recommending alternatives. “We were like, ‘This is a non-starter, and this isn’t going to solve the problem before summer starts,’” Daniels says. She adds a challenge has been getting the agency to see that tourism-related problems pose safety risks, and proposed solutions do not reflect a general opposition to tourism. “I don’t believe the Big Sur Land Use Plan says the only function of this highway is to serve the visiting public at all costs. It’s a priority, 100 percent. But the capacity of the highway is the measure for what development we allow it, and it feels like some of the agencies that should know this really disregard these key tenets.” Similar tensions have surrounded the ParkIT! shuttle plans, which aim to address mounting traffic and safety concerns near the entry to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve along the Carmel/Big Sur corridor. At an Oct. 14 planning commission meeting, Coastal Commission representatives again raised concerns about public access, but commissioners unanimously voted to advance the plan, nearly eight years in the making. Working with State Sen. John Laird, local officials secured $618,000 for traffic enforcement at Bixby Bridge while a long-term solution is developed, and another $150,000 to pay for consultants to continue planning the Point Lobos shuttle. With El Niño ahead, residents are preparing for potentially volatile conditions, as Chief Harris urged at the BSMAAC meeting. But a broader message emerged as locals, fire staff and representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, Caltrans and other agencies spoke: addressing Big Sur’s challenges requires coordination across all levels of government, informed by local knowledge. “I think we can plan effective management tools for land and people,” Farr says, “if the bureaucracies will listen.” “It’s not that the viewshed is important; it’s that the viewshed is sacrosanct.” BIG SUR continued from pg. 24 Quality feed & pet supplies • DIY dog & cat vaccines • Premium hay at great prices Low cost vaccination clinic for dogs & cats. Microchipping. 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