Timber Fire grows to over 5,100 acres with hundreds of residents still evacuated in Big Sur area
BIG SUR, Calif. -- The Timber Fire burning in the Big Sur area of Monterey County was at 17% containment Sunday and grew to just over 5,000 acres, CAL FIRE said.
As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the fire was at 5,103 acres, according to CAL FIRE.
Crews have done a good job holding a line along Partington Ridge after the fire went two-thirds down the slope, CAL FIRE said.
"Steep terrain has limited access to some portions of containment line, making heat detection extremely difficult," CAL FIRE said. "Firefighters continue to cold trail and look for signs of fire activity in those areas."
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Firefighters are working directly off Coast Ridge Road near the Pine Ridge Trail system in an effort to secure the northwestern side and maintain containment south of the Big Sur River.
There are over 500 structures threatened, but none had been damaged or destroyed as of Sunday. No injuries have been reported.
About 640 residents remain under evacuation orders and about 350 more are under evacuation warnings.
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For those impacted by the Timber Fire, the emergency shelter at Carmel Middle School at 4380 Carmel Valley Road, will remain open until evacuation orders are lifted.
A 10-mile stretch of State Highway 1 in Big Sur is closed to support fire operations, Caltrans said. The highway is blocked from two miles north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to the Big Sur Bakery.
CAL FIRE initially said the fire started on Aug. 9 but later clarified that it started on Aug. 8 near Timber Top Trail. It jumped Coastal Ridge Road and spread northwest toward Big Sur Campgrounds and several well-known restaurants and hotels.
