Overview
- The Timber Fire, which began on Aug. 8, has burned about 23,343 acres and is roughly in the low‑20s percent containment as crews focus on holding lines near Manuel Peak and the Big Sur River drainage.
- The newer Plaskett Fire, first reported on Aug. 26, grew very quickly to roughly 5,900 acres with zero containment by late Friday and is advancing toward Highway 1.
- Caltrans has closed about a 40‑mile stretch of Highway 1 from Gorda to Captain Cooper Elementary to support firefighting and evacuation operations and officials are urging people to avoid the area.
- Incident commanders are prioritizing structure defense and strengthening containment lines using controlled firing, dozers, hand crews, helicopters, airtankers and UAS modules where conditions allow.
- Mandatory evacuations, shelter‑in‑place orders and repeated business and state park closures have disrupted residents and summer tourism, and steep terrain plus volatile weather mean suppression could take weeks without season‑ending rain.