| Marble Cone Fire | |
|---|---|
 Firefighters assemble preparing to attack the fire. | |
| Date(s) | August 1977 |
| Location | Big Sur, California |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 177,866 acres (71,980 ha; 278 sq mi; 720 km2) |
| Land use | Wildlands |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Map | |
  General area of the fire in California | |
The Marble Cone Fire was a wildland fire that burned for three weeks in August 1977 in the Santa Lucia Mountains high country of the Big Sur area of Monterey County, California including the Ventana Wilderness. Started by two lightning strikes, the fire burned 177,866 acres (720 km2) in the Santa Lucia Mountains, making it the largest wildfire in the state since the Matilija Fire of 1932, although as of 2024 it no longer ranks in the top twenty. [1]
About 5,700 firefighters cut 160 miles (260 km) of line around the fire before it was contained. The fire burned 90% of the vegetation cover in the upper Big Sur River watershed. This posed a threat of flooding along the Big Sur River as a much smaller fire in August 1972 had led to severe flooding. This time, however, the rains were moderate and resulted in no major flooding problems.[2] The fire cost $10.65 million to contain and caused millions of dollars more in damage to the watersheds of the Carmel River Valley, Arroyo Seco River, Big Sur, Little Sur River and Big Creek.[3][4]
- ^ "Top 20 Largest California Wildfires" (PDF). www.fire.ca.gov. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). July 31, 2024.
- ^ Lussier, Tommie Kay, Big Sur: A Complete History and Guide, ISBN 0-935766-27-8
- ^ "Sequential Changes in Bed Habitat Conditions in the Upper Carmel River Following the Marble-Cone Fire of August 1977", California Digital Library
- ^ "West Coast Forest Fire Contained After 18 Days". The New York Times. 19 August 1977. Retrieved 21 June 2023.