This is an as-told-essay based on a conversation with Kirk Gafill, an owner and general manager of Nepenthe, a restaurant on California’s Big Sur coast that is under an evacuation order due to the Timber Fire . Gafill is also the president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I live on property at Nepenthe, but when I first became aware of the fire on Saturday, my wife and I were at our home in Monterey Bay, where we often spend weekends. Every fire makes you sit up and pay attention, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be very impactful and that it might take care of itself.
By mid-morning Sunday, I…
