Fire Crews Battle Big Sur Blaze

Fire crews set backfires hoping to thwart a 9,500-acre wildfire that was expected to double in size Sunday in the steep slopes of the southern Big Sur.

The backfires were set along a road about two miles north of the steep terrain where the main blaze was burning out of control. As of noon, the fire was only 20 percent contained, fire bosses said.

About 2,300 firefighters were on the lines, handicapped by a lack of passable roads and sloping terrain with some grades as steep as 70 percent.

The scenic forest is located along the California coast, about 80 miles south of the San Francisco Bay area.

The following fields overflowed: DATELINE = LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST, CALIF.