BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) — Big California wildfires are burning tinder dry vegetation in rugged central coast mountains and near an Eastern Sierra trailhead where hikers begin treks to the summit of Mount Whitney.
More than 500 firefighters are battling the Willow Fire, which has scorched nearly 4.5 square miles south of Big Sur in Los Padres National Forest.
The blaze poses a threat to the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a Buddhist monastery located in a remote valley.
Crews on Tuesday are setting up defenses to protect structures there and at a recreation center.
On the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, a fire in the Whitney Portal area near Lone Pine has thwarted hikers planning to climb Mount Whitney.