The State - News from June 4, 1987

About 700 firefighters mopped up remaining hot spots as the final wisps of smoke rose from the fire that destroyed 32 homes and damaged 20 others in north Pebble Beach. Investigators continued to probe the cause of the blaze, searching for clues to the identity of the campers whose illegal fire in a botanical reserve apparently got out of control, igniting dry trees and sending embers onto the wood-shake roofs of hillside homes. The fire did an estimated $18-million damage and cost at least $300,000 to fight. Gov. George Deukmejian has declared the region a disaster area, clearing the way for various kinds of aid.