‘Measured in weeks, not days’: Plaskett and Timber fires near Big Sur scorch 33,000 acres
Crews on Sunday continued to battle two wildfires in Monterey County near Big Sur that have collectively burned more than 33,000 acres and forced more than 600 people to evacuate. The Plaskett fire near Fort Hunter Liggett has spread down to Highway 1 and remains “pretty active” on all sides, according to Lee Beyer, spokesman with the U.S. Forest Service. That includes the southern perimeter near Los Burros Road where it is threatening homes and structures. The fire was 8,241 acres as of Sunday afternoon — up from about 6,000 acres Saturday — with only 1% contained. More than 600 firefighters are tackling the blaze from the air and ground, working in “incredibly steep and difficult terrain,” Beyer said. Portions of the area have not burned since the 1970s, “so it’s about a 55-year-old fuel bed, and that’s much more difficult to contain because it’s a lot heavier, a lot thicker, a lot more dead components to the fuel.” Road closures are in effect on Highway 1 between Little Sur River and Salmon Creek, as …
