Fire Adapted Big Sur History
FABS, originally known as the Fire Adapted Community Coordinator (FACC) for Greater Big Sur, launched in June 2022.
Joe Stutler and Frank Pinney presented the concept of Fire Adapted Communities - residents and businesses organizing to better prepare for wildfire - to Butch Kronlund, then-Executive Director for CABS. Butch, Frank and Joe raised first-year funding of $100,000 from local businesses and residents, then hired Rayner Marx as FACC, operating as an independent contractor reporting to fiscal sponsor CABS.
Early successes included a US Forest Service $75,000 grant (plus $75,000 in neighborhood matching funds) to implement shaded fuel breaks in the Coastlands community to slow the potential spread of wildfire. 11,300 cubic yards of slash were removed across nine acres.
Coastlands, in partnership with Nepenthe, Post Ranch Inn and Alila Ventana Big Sur, soon were recognized as Post Creek Firewise, Big Sur’s first Firewise USA®-recognized community in 2023. Clear Ridge Firewise, Partington Ridge Firewise and Green Ridge Firewise followed.
To sustain the program, Frank, Joe and Rayner presented a long-term funding model to the County of Monterey in December 2022. Copying a successful FACC program for Deschutes County, Oregon, the model proposed that the County of Monterey hire a FACC (Rayner), who would apply for, win and manage wildfire prevention-related grants. Indirect Cost (income) of 10-12% of grant awards would self-fund the FACC position. While supportive of the concept, the county was not set up to accommodate such a program. However, the county subsequently awarded $56,250 in Program Request funds in 2023.
CABS was awarded a CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grant award of $553,977 in July 2023 to fund FABS for five years. CABS hired Rayner as an employee in August 2023. With FABS now a program of CABS, the initial FABS service area of Big Sur Fire’s service area - Hurricane Point to the San Luis Obispo County line - expanded north to Mal Paso Creek, including Mid Coast Fire’s service area.
An anonymous donor funded a July 2024 Big Sur Chipping Pilot Program. In August 2024, CABS was awarded a CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grant award of $1,165,250 to fund the Big Sur Chipping Program. The chipping program began operating in February 2025. Perez Services was hired as a chipping contractor. The program added the new privately-funded Big Sur Fire Ground Division in June 2025 as a seasonal chipping contractor. In 2025, the program completed 195 chipping appointments, treated 538 acres, chipped 3,700 cubic yards of slash, and produced 1,700 cubic yards of chips, servicing residents and businesses from north of Palo Colorado Canyon to south of Gorda Mountain.
In addition to grant-related tasks, FABS conducts community town halls, publishes newsletters, conducts wildfire preparedness assessments for residents and businesses, and partners with local organizations, including, but not limited to, Big Sur Fire, Mid Coast Fire, CAL FIRE and the Firesafe Council for Monterey County.
Fire Adapted Big Sur is a program of the Community Association of Big Sur