The Timber Fire in Big Sur expanded to 4,245 acres by Thursday morning while threatening 503 structures, according to Cal Fire. The blaze was 7% contained with 1,405 personnel fighting the fire, Cal Fire said.
Meanwhile, Highway 1 was partially closed from mile marker 45.1 near the Big Sur Bakery to mile marker 37 at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, according to Watch Duty.
The Timber Fire started as a 4.6-acre fire on Sunday evening, before it grew quickly over the past two days, reaching 2,900 acres on Tuesday evening and 3,150 acres as of Wednesday morning, prompting evacuations for some residents and businesses long the Monterey County coast, according to Cal Fire.
Through Wednesday night, firefighters tied handline through a dozer line down Partington Ridge toward Highway 1 to cut off the fire’s southeastern spread, according to the Watch Duty update.
Fire engines were also stationed to protect structures west of Highway 1.
“Very little fire activity was observed as humidity rose to almost 90% under the heavy marine layer,” the Watch Duty update said.
Meanwhile, on the north side of the blaze, night crews completed line from Coast Ridge Road to Big Sur River to prevent the spread of the blaze.
“The fire continued to burn actively above the marine layer overnight,” the Watch Duty update said. “Day shift crews are working actively to open old fire lines as contingency as well as finding safe and effective places to put new lines as close as possible to the active fire edge.”
Five zones were under evacuation orders in the immediate vicinity of the blaze:
- MRY-F023
- MRY-F025
- MRY-F026
- MRY-F027
- MRY-F028-A
Another five were under evacuation warnings to the north and south:
- MRY-F021-B
- MRY-F022
- MRY-F024
- MRY-F028-B
- MRY-F029
An evacuation shelter was available at Carmel Middle School at 4830 Carmel Valley Road. The shelter accepts pets.
This story was originally published by the San Luis Obispo Tribune.