In an emergency, always call 911 first. This page is an independent design concept.

Palo Colorado Canyon, Monterey County, California

Year-round fire protection on the Big Sur coast

Mid-Coast Fire Brigade is an all-volunteer wildland and structure force in the steep redwood canyons above the Pacific. It was organized in 1979 to cover the fire season the state left open, and it has answered the coast ever since.

Follow on Facebook See the coast we cover
Since 1979
Organized by neighbors for year-round coverage
All volunteer
Training twice a month, wildland and structure
Garrapata to Hurricane Point
The coast from the north park to South Forty

The coast we cover

From Garrapata State Park south to South Forty at Hurricane Point

A narrow shelf of coast where redwood canyons drop straight to the Pacific. The brigade answers the stretch of Highway 1 and the canyon roads between the north park and Hurricane Point, terrain too steep and too remote to wait on help from over the ridge.

Stylized map of the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade coverage area A stylized coastal strip. The Pacific Ocean is below a wavy shoreline that runs from Garrapata State Park in the north at the left, past the station in Palo Colorado Canyon in the center, to South Forty at Hurricane Point in the south at the right. Topographic contour lines rise inland above the shore, showing the steep canyon terrain.
NorthGarrapata State Park, the northern edge of the coverage CenterPalo Colorado Canyon, the brigade station SouthSouth Forty at Hurricane Point, the southern edge

Stylized coverage illustration, north at left and south at right, drawn for this design concept. Not a survey map or an operational boundary.

Since 1979

Because the state only came in summer

For years the coast had wildland cover only in the dry months, when the state stood up its seasonal crews. When the season ended, the canyons were on their own. A house fire, a car over the edge of Highway 1, a winter brush burn getting loose: the nearest engine could be a long way over the ridge.

So in 1979, the neighbors built their own brigade, and made the coverage year round.

Mid-Coast Fire Brigade was organized to stand watch every month of the year, not just fire season. It has stayed all volunteer, a crew of neighbors who train twice a month and turn out for wildland and structure calls across the Palo Colorado coast.

EST. 1979 BIG SUR COAST
Original design concept emblem. Not the brigade's official badge.

The brigade

Neighbors who answer the canyon

A small, all-volunteer force built for the terrain it covers: redwood canyons, a narrow coast highway, and steep ground where wildland and structure work run together.

Wildland and structure

One crew for two kinds of fire: brush and canyon wildland in the dry months, and structure and roadway calls the rest of the year, in country too steep to wait on distant help.

Training twice a month

Volunteers drill on a steady schedule, keeping skills and apparatus ready so the coast has trained hands close by, every month of the year.

An all-volunteer crew

Not a career department. A brigade of neighbors who chose to cover their own coast year round, and have kept turning out since 1979.

Community

The Harvest Moon Ball

The brigade's signature community gathering, a night for the coast to come together and stand behind the volunteers who cover it. It is the kind of event that keeps a small canyon department going.

This year's date is announced on the brigade's Facebook page.

Find the date on Facebook

Reach the coast

Contact and station

The brigade's most active public channel is its Facebook page. This concept page has no contact form and collects nothing. For any emergency, call 911.

Emergency

Fire, medical, or rescue on the coast:

Call 911

Facebook

Updates, road and fire notes, and the community events the brigade posts.

facebook.com/MidCoastFire

Station

38000 Palo Colorado Road
Carmel, CA 93923
Monterey County, California