Officials, however, said favorable weather in the coming days could help in the battle to control the blazes.<\/p>\n
The 29,000-acre Plaskett fire ignited on Aug. 26 and was 1% contained as of Tuesday evening. The blaze was at 15,500 acres as of Monday morning but by around 4:30 p.m had exploded to 26,700 acres \u2014 outgrowing the Timber fire to become the state\u2019s third-largest fire by acreage, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.<\/p>\n
Much of that \u201caggressive growth\u201d Monday was along the Plaskett fire\u2019s eastern edge, the U.S. Forest Service said in an update<\/a> that evening: \u201cSteep terrain and thick fuels remain the primary driver of fire behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n The 1884 Pfeiffer Homestead Cabin is wrapped in fire-resistant material as wildfires threaten in Big Sur.<\/p>\n (InciWeb.gov)<\/p>\n The Timber fire, which ignited on Aug. 8 in an area about 30 miles to the north of where the Plaskett blaze would later begin, has burned about 25,200 acres. It was 22% contained as of Tuesday evening as fire crews indicated progress in controlling the blaze had been made. <\/p>\n Nearly 1,100 people have been evacuated as a result of the Timber fire, said Lee Beyer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. <\/p>\n Beyer said he could not say how many people had been evacuated as a result of the Plaskett fire. A second incident management team took over the fire on Tuesday and was not immediately available for comment. But Beyer noted that the Plaskett fire is burning in a more remote area than the Timber fire.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the Timber fire grew about 33 acres, authorities said. A joint statement<\/a> from multiple agencies including the U.S. Forest Service and Monterey County Sheriff\u2019s Office described it as a \u201cminimal change\u201d \u2014 the result of \u201caggressive day and night firefighting as well as favorable weather, moderated fire behavior and better mapping of the fire perimeter.\u201d<\/p>\n With the Plaskett fire, \u201cthe combination of fuels and topography made [for] a really aggressive fire movement,\u201d Beyer said. The fire reached an area that most recently burned in the 1970s, and the dense vegetation, strong winds and sloped terrain all made the fire harder to put out, he said.<\/p>\n The humidity and cooler temperatures forecast for the coming days, Beyer said, are expected to help with firefighting efforts. \u201cIt\u2019s like starting a campfire with wet wood versus dry wood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The National Weather Service\u2019s Bay Area office said in its Tuesday afternoon forecast<\/a> that it expected cooler than average temperatures and a deepening marine layer to result in \u201cimproved overnight humidity recoveries through Friday.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cChances for drizzle and light rain linger through Friday,\u201d the agency said.<\/p>\n According to Cal Fire, around 3,000 personnel, scores of engines, helicopters, dozers and other equipment are being used to battle the fires, with \u201cnumerous\u201d air tankers from throughout the state flying fire suppression missions. <\/p>\n Beyer said there are \u201cabsolutely\u201d enough resources to battle the flames as few other major fires are concurrently burning in other parts of the state.<\/p>\n Travelers to the area are having to find alternate routes<\/a> as a long stretch of Highway 1 remains closed. The northern end of the closure is near Little Sur River, at Mile Marker 56, while the southern end is near the San Luis Obispo County line, at Mile Marker 0.09, according to Cal Fire.<\/p>\n Mandatory evacuation orders, evacuation warnings and shelter-in-place orders have been issued across the region. A map showing current evacuations can be found here<\/a>. Evacuation shelters for both fires have been opened at the Carmel Mission Inn and Cambria Veterans Memorial Hall.<\/p>\n As the Timber fire continued to burn, firefighting crews over the weekend wrapped a historic cabin in Big Sur built by settler John Pfieiffer in a fire retardant material that looks similar to tin foil, KSBW reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n Beyer said the material works by reflecting radiant heat and blocking embers from entering the structure.<\/p>\n The cause of both fires remains under investigation. <\/p>\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788337091_737_.jpeg\")
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