Timber Fire Now Third Largest in State, CHP Announces Highway 1 Closure
A stretch of Highway 1 in Big Sur will close again on Thursday in an effort to regain control over the Timber Fire.
The fire has burned nearly 19,000 acres as of Wednesday — more than double what prompted initial evacuations on Aug. 10.
The Timber Fire is now the third biggest fire in the state this year, according to CalFire. Much of that spread has been to the east, moving deeper into the Los Padres National Forest.
The Henry Miller Memorial Library, a historic library located on Highway 1, will close indefinitely starting on Thursday. Staff implored visitors not to visit Big Sur in an Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials are closing the road and evacuating the surrounding areas so that firefighters can “backburn” — set a controlled burn along the perimeter of the fire to clear out any vegetation that could fuel the flames.
Faith Fassett, a host at the historic Big Sur restaurant Nepenthe, evacuated for 12 days after the Timber Fire broke out earlier this month.
“It’s been pretty rough,” Fassett said.
Fassett returned last week to find most things back to normal, before the blaze exploded and spread to about 8,665 acres on Saturday.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office issued new evacuation orders and warnings that will go into effect on Thursday at 1 p.m. Residents in MRY-F022, MRY-F023-A and MRY-F025 are now under mandatory evacuation orders, joining 11 other areas.
Those who decide to remain behind “must be prepared to self-sustain for up to 7 days,” according to a press release from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Thursday at 1 p.m. will also mark a hard closure of Highway 1 between Andrew Molera State Park and Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A second fire broke out in Monterey County around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. At 40 acres, the Plaskett Fire has displaced 28 people, according to Commander Joseph Bañuelo, a spokesperson for the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Cal Fire public information officer Ahmad Touré said that Big Sur’s steep, rugged terrain has complicated containment efforts since the fire ignited on Aug. 8.
“There are intersecting river valleys, and it’s really hard to get fire personnel and heavy equipment in those areas,” Touré told KQED on Wednesday. “It’s actually very dangerous.”
CalFire reports 661 structures are under threat, as the crew continues to prioritize protecting people and structures along Highway 1. The iconic state route reopened Aug. 22 after the last closure related to the Timber Fire.
“Our operational objective from day one has been to keep the fire east of Highway 1,” Touré said. “That corridor is very important to the economies of the communities along it, so making sure that the fire didn’t burn that way was essential.”
Cal Fire has been relying heavily on air support to prevent the fire from spreading. The operation includes 14 helicopters,1,788 personnel and 90 fire engines.
Touré said that hotter weather and dry nights along the coast contributed to the fire’s recent growth. He called this weather pattern normal for the region during this time of year.
Monterey County closed its evacuation shelter at Carmel Middle School last Wednesday. Bañuelo said that the county is working to find a new location for this week’s evacuees.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources warned in a recent briefing that fire damage to the Big Sur region’s watershed could trigger mudslides that shut down the Pacific Coast Highway this winter.
“The odds that Highway 1 has big problems this winter were already high, and along this segment they might be even higher now,” Swain said Aug. 12.
This is a developing story and will be updated.