The well-trained and equipped department responded with 16 volunteers, a bulldozer, two fire engines, and two pickups carrying pumps and water.

[5] The Big Sur Fire Brigade claimed that hundreds of firefighters and dozens of engines, tankers and bulldozers were brought in from surrounding states, but much of the equipment and personnel were parked along Highway 1, unused for almost two weeks.

[5] West refused to allow bulldozers on the fire lines for 10 days, despite the fact that they are permitted in wilderness areas during emergencies.

[6] When fire boss Myron Lee acted, he deployed firefighters in a wide encirclement, concentrating on the northern side, choosing to focus on protecting the Carmel River watershed while allowing 80,000 to 85,000 acres of the 98,000-acre Ventana Wilderness to burn.

[6] Big Sur Fire Brigade members later learned that USFS policy at the time was to replace used or damaged equipment and replenish firefighting budgets only when the costs exceeded $10 million.