Big Sur Wildfire Threatens Beach Boy's Property

The fire near Big Sur has forced nearly everyone out of town. The wildfire has charred more than 50,000 acres and jumped a fire line. One person who's staying put for now is Mary Ann Jardine. Her husband, Al, you might know, is a member of the Beach Boys. KPCC's Steve Julian spoke to Mary Ann, just as Al was driving away.

Mary Ann Jardine (breathing heavily): He's on his way to New York. He has a show in Long Island, on the Fourth of July. So he's leaving with the dogs and a trailer and a suburban full of stuff, and he's putting air in the tires as we speak.

Steve Julian: What's in the trailer? Is it possessions, or animals...?

Jardine: Yeah, some possessions. He has his new microphones, and lyrics, and 24-tracks, and things like that.

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Julian: How close is the fire to your property, and how much land do you have?

Jardine: We have 80 acres. And we're on the original Pfeiffer estate, right next to Pfeiffer Beach. And I don't believe there's been a fire, a forest fire through here sine 1917, I believe.

Julian: No doubt you can smell it, but can you see the fire as well?

Jardine: Not at– from our property, yes, but not from our house. Our house is in a canyon, but from a property, yes, you can.

Julian: What kind of house is it? Is it wood, or some–

Jardine: Yes, it's wood. Redwood. We have a 150, 175 year old barn, Pfeiffer Barn, which is our recording studio, Red Barn Studios, is the original Pfeiffer Barn, and it is made out of redwood, and it is, obviously, redwood.

Julian: How far up the canyon are you? How far away from–

Jardine: Oh, we're down at the bottom, at Pfeiffer Beach.

Julian: And then how–

Mary Ann Jardine: (to her husband, Al Jardine): Wait wait, can I give you a kiss before you leave?
Al Jardine: Tell them I have a surfboard on my car.

Mary Ann Jardine: And he has a surfboard on his car, actually!

Julian: (laughs) Of course. He's a Beach Boy, why wouldn't he?

Mary Ann Jardine: Hold on. Hold on. (speaks with her husband)

Mary Ann Jardine (to her husband): Give me a call.
Al Jardine: I will.

Julian: Mary Ann, thanks for being with us. I understand.

Mary Ann Jardine: Yeah, yeah. It just happens to be a time, I thought he was already going to be gone, but he was putting air in the tires.

Julian: Al is leaving, why aren't you?

Jardine: Um, I'm staying with the property. Of course, I had a flight out, but my, we have 22-year-old sons, and they are staying with me, and we are getting the property more ready. We're making sure, we have gel that we purchased actually last Friday. Thermagel that we are putting out for the firefighters to use.

We're making sure the clearance is away, that the propane is off, out, turned off. And, you know, all that kind of stuff. That we just have the property ready, and since the fire is probably maybe three miles from our house, which doesn't sound very far, but, well, it depends. We do only have one road out towards the fire to go out, so we have to make sure that we do have a way out.

Julian: Who are you counting on to tell you when you must, absolutely leave?

Jardine: Yeah, that's kind of the problem, is if you get out of your property, then they can take you away or arrest you and tell you you can't get back, so to check on things, it's kind of iffy, you know. To get out of our canyon, to go look at it. But it would be better if we were up on the hill watching it, if you know what I mean.

But we're down in a canyon, so I guess we're gonna just watch it and hopefully, you know, today or tomorrow, we'll definitely leave. We're just trying to make the property ready for the firefighters to come in and make it a better, an easier access for them to work on. Make sure the vehicles are parked where they, you know, the ones that we're not taking; our tractor, and all that kind of facility, and all the windows are closed, and the doors are closed, and all the things that you're supposed to do in a fire.

Julian: So at some point, Mary Ann, you will be ready to leave and let nature take its course.

Jardine: Uh, yeah. I have a feeling that most of Big Sur is kind of up for... I think it's up for grabs. You know, I mean, some properties are going to make it, and some aren't. It's amazing that so far only 17 properties have been burned.

Julian: Mary Ann, I know you have a lot going on with your husband about to leave, so I'm going to let you go. And thank you so much for joining us.

Jardine: All right, yeah, do you have any other questions? (to husband) Yeah, I think you're going to make it!