The Plaskett Fire has grown to nearly 27,000 acres in less than a week, surpassing a nearby major blaze and forcing mass evacuations along the Big Sur coast.
Cal Fire officials warned Monday night that the inferno showed “continued aggressive growth,” with containment stuck at just 1% despite nearly 1,000 firefighters now battling the flames. The fire had exploded to 26,734 acres by evening, a staggering jump from the 15,479 acres reported that same morning.
That rapid expansion made the Plaskett Fire larger than the nearby Timber Fire, which has burned 25,190 acres but reached 22% containment. The Timber Fire has been burning longer, yet the newer blaze’s ferocious spread has eclipsed it in sheer size.
The Plaskett Fire ignited Wednesday with just 50 acres burning near Forest Road 23S10, east of Los Burros Road. Within five days it had grown more than five hundredfold, driven by conditions fire managers called exceptional. The area has not seen a major wildfire in more than 50 years, leaving thick vegetation that has helped fuel the inferno as it tears through steep and rugged terrain.
“Ongoing concern it could keep spreading south,” officials said Monday, as crews worked to protect buildings and construct new containment lines. The eastern edge saw the primary expansion, with flames pushing deeper into Fort Hunter Liggett.
Firefighters made progress along the northern edge using strategic burns to slow the flames. Super Scooper aircraft repeatedly attacked the southern flank near Los Burros Road, where the fire threatened to advance further.
The incident report listed 41 engines, 15 water tenders, 12 helicopters, six bulldozers and 26 hand crews now assigned to the blaze. At least one structure was previously reported destroyed, according to local sources and US Forest Service firefighters cited by KSBW. The latest official report did not provide an updated damage total.
Evacuation orders remain in force across seven Monterey County zones. Warnings cover four additional zones in Monterey County and three in San Luis Obispo County. Shelters have opened at the Carmel Mission Inn and the Veterans Memorial Building in Cambria for those forced from their homes.
The fire has also forced the closure of roughly 56 miles of Highway 1, from south of Little Sur River at Mile Marker 56 to just north of the San Luis Obispo County line. Officials have not provided an estimated reopening time.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.