Quick Take
Crews are making progress on the Timber fire, which continues to burn in Big Sur in Monterey County. It had scorched more than 6,000 acres as of Thursday night, but containment was 29%. Several state parks remain closed as firefighting efforts continue.
The Timber fire in Big Sur has continued to grow over the past week, but containment is improving and crews appear to have slowed the rate of progress.
The blaze, first reported the morning of Aug. 9, had spread to 6,055 acres as of 7:23 p.m. Thursday. Containment had reached 29%, up from 7% last Thursday.
A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incident management team, a specialized group of emergency personnel that provide leadership and coordination during complicated incidents, continues to lead the fire response. The Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County had also sent a team that included a battalion chief, fire captain, and three firefighters.
Only two zones were under evacuation orders as of Thursday night, but nine remained under evacuation warnings. State parks within the Big Sur area are still closed, including Point Sur State Historic Park, Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. According to County of Monterey spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli, the disaster shelter at Carmel Middle School was closed on Wednesday, and there were no remaining evacuees that the county is aware of.
The northern Highway 1 road closure is now located at Mile Marker 42.6, a half-mile south of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn. The southern edge of the closure is located at Mile Marker 37 at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Vista Point.
Crews will be working on “rock scaling” Thursday and Friday, per Cal Fire’s incident page, to remove loose rock material. This could require temporary closures of some of the currently open areas of Highway 1 in the fire zone, as debris may be falling onto the roadway. Caltrans trucks will clear the roadway and coordinate with traffic to allow drivers to pass through once it is safe.
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