Overtourism and Natural Disasters Converge on California’s Big Sur Coastline

After overtourism besieged Big Sur, the worst finally happened: ‘People kept saying someone is going to die’

The coastal community in California had already been devastated by landslides and wildfires before a fatal crash California’s rugged Big Sur coastline is often called a slice of heaven, 120 miles (195km) of unspoiled rocky promontories, sandy beaches and redwood forests at the foot of the Santa Lucia mountains. This year, it has endured a long summer of hell. Wildfires, road closures and repeated disruptions to the local hotel, restaurant and campsite businesses all have posed significant cha...

By Andrew Gumbel in Big Sur, California