Quick Take
The Timber fire in Monterey County continues to spread through Big Sur, having scorched more than 4,000 acres as of Thursday night. The fire has prompted the closures of state parks and nearby facilities, and has forced more than 500 people to evacuate from five different zones.
The Timber fire tearing through Big Sur continued to grow on Thursday, as state parks have been closed and hundreds have been forced to leave zones under evacuation orders.
The fire, first reported on Sunday morning, had spread to 4,445 acres as of 8:22 p.m. Thursday. Containment has reached 7%, up from 5% Wednesday, as a thick marine layer provides cooler, moister conditions.
A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incident management team, a specialized group of emergency personnel that provides leadership and coordination during complicated incidents, has assumed control of the fire. Local fire crews are joining the fight as well, with the Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County sending a team that includes a battalion chief, fire captain and three firefighters.
Five zones were under evacuation orders, and another five were under evacuation warnings. Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli said that within the zones under evacuation orders, 503 people were evacuated, according to Cal Fire. Of those evacuated, about 225 were people who would be sleeping in the zones.
Numerous state parks within the Big Sur area are closed. Those include Point Sur State Historic Park, Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. A section of Highway 1 between Point Sur and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is closed as well, aside from local residents and employees. Pasculli told Lookout that the Henry Miller Memorial Library is also closed, as well as private campgrounds within the area.
Pasculli added that no county-specific recreational events are canceled at this time, including Monterey Car Week, which is running through Sunday. However, Car Week’s finale, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, considered the most prestigious car show in the world, will be rerouted, but is still occurring.
National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass told Lookout that winds are likely to stay mild into the weekend, and the marine layer is poised to stick around through the weekend as well. That means favorable firefighting conditions could hold in the coming days.
“The marine layer deepened overnight to around 2,200 feet. We’re forecasting it to deepen even more to about 2,500 feet tonight and continue through the weekend,” he said. “You may struggle to see clearing outside of the Santa Clara Valley.”
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