BIG SUR, Calif. - Independence Day is normally a booming time for tourism here, with visitors settling into cliffside vacation homes or trekking out to campgrounds nestled among the redwoods.
But this year, the only out-of-towners in Big Sur are firefighters working around the clock to save the storied community from flames.
A ferocious wildfire burning through the Los Padres National Forest continued creeping closer to town Friday, after jumping a fire line and claiming several more homes this week.
Locals who feared for their homes and businesses also had to worry about lost revenue during peak season.
"I'm sure the season is just toast,'' said Kurt Mayer, who ignored mandatory evacuation orders to defend his Big Sur Deli from the approaching fire.
"Usually the busiest time is July and August, so I'm sure it's just going to be zero.''
The stubborn blaze, which has burned more than 260 square kilometres, was just one of hundreds raging around the state.
On Thursday, officials reported California's first firefighter death this year -- a volunteer who collapsed on the fire line in Mendocino County.
At least 20 homes have been destroyed near Big Sur since the blaze broke out June 21. The fire was only five per cent contained by late Thursday.
Crews near the Pacific Coast Highway fought back flames from homes and historic landmarks, including the upscale Ventana Inn which was surrounded by crackling, burning brush Thursday afternoon.
Several homes perched on a ridge near the inn the fell victim to the fire the night before.
Kirk Gafill, general manager of the nearby Nepenthe restaurant, said he and five employees were working feverishly to protect the cliffside business his grandparents built in 1949.
Wearing dust masks, the crew scrambled to stamp out embers, some the size of dinner plates, that were dropping from the sky, he said.
"We know fire officials don't have the manpower to secure our properties,'' Gafill said. "Based on what we saw during Katrina and other disasters, we know we can only rely on ourselves and our neighbours.''
A total of 367 wildfires were burning Thursday across the state, most ignited by lightning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest Service.
That figure was down from a peak of roughly 1,500 fires just a few days ago.
In all, the wildfires have scorched more than 2,000 square kilometres miles and destroyed at least 65 structures since June 20, the department said.
With firefighting resources stretched thin early in the fire season, counties have been recruiting volunteer firefighters to help with smaller blazes.
On Thursday, volunteer firefighter Robert Roland, 63, died at a hospital after collapsing a day earlier while battling a blaze in Mendocino County, north of the San Francisco Bay region.
It was the first reported death of a firefighter this season, and the governor ordered flags at the Capitol to fly at half-staff.
Meanwhile, a third wildfire in the southern extension of the Los Padres forest near Santa Barbara forced residents to evacuate small communities around Goleta.
In all, authorities told residents of about 1,700 homes to leave, and the Red Cross set up an evacuation centre at a high school.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency to free up resources to fight that blaze.
"It appears that all homes were saved last night,'' county communications director William Boyer said. "Firefighters were able to make a stand.''
In the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, crews struggled to contain a blaze burning nearly 57 square kilometres, which was about 15 per cent contained Friday.
Nearby residents remain under voluntary evacuation orders.
