Plaskett Fire Expands to Over 27,000 Acres in Big Sur, Threatening Unburned Areas

The Plaskett Fire, which ignited on Aug. 26 east of Los Burros Road near Cambria, has surged to 27,580 acres, according to Cal Fire, with containment remaining at just 1% on Tuesday. The blaze has more than tripled in size since Sunday and is now the third-largest wildfire in California this year, overtaking the Timber Fire that began on Aug. 8.

Cal Fire noted that the fire is advancing rapidly through steep terrain and heavy fuels toward the Fort Hunter Liggett area, reaching zones that have not burned in over five decades. The U.S. Forest Service reported that humidity rose to about 90% and temperatures fell into the 50s on Monday night, slowing the fire’s spread, and forecast cooler conditions for Wednesday.

Both the Plaskett and Timber fires have forced the closure of nearly the entire Highway 1 corridor through Big Sur, with two separate segments shut down, and have led to temporary closures of local businesses, including a historic cliffside restaurant and the Henry Miller Memorial Library. Evacuation orders remain in effect for Monterey County residents, and the Timber Fire threatens more than 660 structures, with one firefighter reported injured.

"There is no imminent threat to the military base," a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Fort Hunter Liggett Public Affairs Office said in a news release, although flames have reached adjacent training areas.

Combined, the two fires have burned roughly 82 square miles, an area larger than Oakland and nearly twice the size of San Francisco.