In the 1980s I would bicycle down the Pacific Coast Highway PCH in the summer. One of those years Big Sur had another large fire. As I stopped to camp overnight, the locals talked about the evening’s entertainment, to hike up the ridge and watch the fire. The older ones knew that every 10-20 years there was a fire. Back then Globull Cooling was all the rage.
You are from Southern California? They don’t call it PCH up here, it’s Highway 1.