Two wildfires in the Big Sur region of California have triggered new evacuation orders, warnings, and a highway closure as crews battle steep and hard-to-access terrain.
The sheriff's office advised the public to follow instructions from public safety officials and monitor official channels for updates, directing residents to alertmry.org/alerts for more information.
The Plaskett Fire had burned 140 acres as of Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire, which said it is not a Cal Fire incident and will provide updates when available. The fire started Wednesday at 11:01 a.m. and is burning along Forest Road 23S10, east of Los Burros Road near Plaskett, within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service's Los Padres National Forest. The California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 has taken command of the fire, Cal Fire said.
Officials said anyone under an evacuation order should "leave NOW," while those choosing to remain under a shelter-in-place order must be prepared to sustain themselves for at least seven days or leave the area.
The county also warned that residents who remain in the closed portion of Highway 1 "will not be able to move freely, as the fire poses an active danger," and urged people to stay off roadways and avoid returning to closed areas.
A shelter was set to open at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Carmel Mission Inn Conference Room at 3665 Rio Road in Carmel, and a virtual Temporary Evacuation Point can be reached at 831-647-7760.
The California Highway Patrol planned to close Highway 1 on Thursday at 1 p.m. between a point one mile south of Old Coast Road at mile marker 50.1 and a location a half-mile south of Deetjen's Big Sur Inn at mile marker 42.6, with no set reopening timeline, Cal Fire said Thursday morning. That closure area overlaps with a stretch the county separately described as closed between mile markers 50.1 and 45.3.
The cause of both the Timber and Plaskett fires remains under investigation.
Cal Fire said fire behavior for both blazes is being driven by low relative humidity and dry fuels, with crews using a full suppression strategy that includes aircraft dropping water and retardant.
Heavy equipment and additional personnel continued arriving to reinforce control lines, but ground access remains difficult because of steep, inaccessible terrain, and a lack of roads, forcing firefighters to hike in to protect structures.