Aggressive Plaskett fire outgrows Timber fire as Big Sur wildfires rage
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.
Set us as preferred One of two destructive wildfires burning near Big Sur in Monterey County has nearly doubled in size over the last two days.The aggressive Plaskett fire overtook the Timber fire in size, and together they have blackened more than 50,000 acres.The twin wildfires have led to the closure of 50 miles of Highway 1, as well as popular state parks including Pfeiffer Big Sur and landmark sites such as Nepenthe restaurant, the Big Sur River Inn and the Henry Miller Memorial Library.Officials, however, said favorable weather in the coming days could help in the battle to control the blazes.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 — outgrowing the Timber fire to become the state’s third-largest fire by acreage, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Much of that “aggressive growth” Monday was along the Plaskett fire’s eastern edge, the U.S.
Forest Service said in an update that evening: “Steep terrain and thick fuels remain the primary driver of fire behavior.”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.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.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 ...