Plaskett, CA Wildfire Overview  - 			01	September	2026									
								c.	0545 UTC						
Weather Conditions -  															
Heavy cloud and haze cover was present across the entire fire.															
															
Details -															
Heavy clouds and haze were present over the entire fire. The entire perimeter is indicated as estimated.															
Weather conditions had a severe effect upon analysis.
No data was received for the extreme southern end of the fire. The perimeter in that area is indicated as estimated.															
Large areas of perimeter growth with intense and scattered fire were detected at the northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern corners of the fire.															
Large areas of intense fire were detected along the northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern edges of the fire.															
Very large areas of scattered fire were detected throughout much of the perimeter.															
Isolated fires were generally within fairly close proximity to the main perimeters.															
															
Acreage -															
Starting Perimeter Source -				Incident/NIFC											
Starting Perimeter Date/Time -			31	August	2026		0200	UTC						
															
Estimated Acreage: 26,887															
Acreage Change (if any): +11,409

Today's Operation Map with IR overlay:

Timber Fire, CA Wildfire Overview		01 September 2026

Weather Conditions:
The vicinity of the fire was completely cloud covered.

Details
No Data Was Received for this wildfire. No products were produced or provided.

Message from your Fire Chief regarding the Timber and Plaskett Fires:

This has been an incredible few weeks for all of us.  I am so impressed with all of you and our community.  You have been inquisitive, patient and resilient and you will need to be for quite a while longer.  The Timber Fire had minimal growth over the last few days aided by an early season cold front that even holds the possibility of precipitation.  The primary containment lines are still being dialed in and it will take many days if not weeks for the fire to reach them.  Crews are going direct where they can to extinguish and mop-up the fire.  Some areas are just too steep and rugged to safely access, as you know, and it is a patience game for either season ending rain or the fire to reach the line.

The Plaskett fire on the other hand has been dynamic and has seen several significant days of growth.  The acreage in fact has now surpassed the Timber Fire.  Due to the size and complexity of both incidents, a second incident management team has been mobilized and assumed command of the Plaskett Fire this morning (CA-CIIMT7).  Our Big Sur Fire resources (2 engines and a water tender) are currently assigned to the Plaskett Fire sharing their local knowledge and helping lead our mutual aid partners into the enclaves of Plaskett Ridge Road, Los Burros Road, Gorda Mountain Road and others to protect structures and extinguish the fire.

As both incidents progress, the incident management teams and I are in constant communication with all agencies involved such as Monterey County Sherriff, CHP, CalTrans, Dept. of Emergency Management, and many more.  We are continually evaluating the situation and looking for opportunities to return life to normal, including reopening the highway.  Right now, things are on track for reopening the northern closure in the Timber Fire area based on the timeline established last week.  There is no timeline for the southern closure.  More information will be provided very soon if/when anything changes.

There is another community meeting tomorrow at 6:00pm at the Mid-Coast Firehouse on Palo Colorado Rd. for those outside the closure area.  Please keep checking our website bigsurfire.org, inciweb, and other apps like Watch Duty or Wildfire Intel for more information.  Thank you for the outpouring of support with food, drinks and other supplies for the firefighters who are all so grateful.  This is going to be an even longer haul than originally thought and we will need your continued and increased support to get through it.

Respectfully,

Matt Harris

Fire Chief

Good Morning:  This will be the last combined Timber and Plaskett Fires Update.  Beginning this evening California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 will be sending out information regarding the Plaskett Fire.

Timber Fire: 25,190 Acres, 22% contained and 2,016 firefighters assigned.

Firefighters on the Timber Fire were aided by overnight humidity recovery near 90% which helped keep fire behavior moderated.

Night crews focused on mop up and active patrol along the Highway 1 corridor, specifically working to extinguish any lingering heat that could threaten the road or structures in the Camp Pfiefer area. To the east, humidity remained as low as 5% at elevations around Chews Ridge and highlights the potential for continued fire spread as conditions allow.

With that potential in mind, firefighters along the northwest corner of the perimeter are focusing on building containment around a slopover from several days ago near Manuel Peak.

Along the northern and eastern edges of the fire, handcrews and heavy equipment are being utilized to connect pieces of completed dozer line from Bixby Mopuntain to Skinner Ridge, east toward Haystack and from Chews Ridge east then south toward Arroyo Seco.

WEATHER: An early season trough of low pressure will bring unseasonably cool temperatures and higher humidity airmass over the Timber and Plaskett Fire tomorrow. This will be one of the coolest days since the fire started with highs mainly in the 60s and struggling to warm into the 70s, even for interior portions of the fire. General winds will continue to be onshore and from the West with gusts to around 15 mph for the exposed ridges along the Coast Ridge Trail. Lower elevations below 2000 feet will continue to see good humidity values that will help with mop-up operations. The air aloft should be cool enough to erode the marine inversion layer with cooler temperatures for the highest elevations above 3000 feet. Skies will be partly cloudy tonight as a weak frontal boundary passes through. The front may generate some very light showers or drizzle overnight into Wednesday morning, especially around Big Sur and the Pfeiffer Camp but amounts would be a few hundredths at most.

ROAD CLOSURES: A hard road closure is in effect on State Route 1: For updates, visit:

https://roads.dot.ca.gov/?roadnumber=1 orhttps://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

EVACUATIONS:

Monterey County has issued evacuation warnings and orders.  View the Interactive Evacuation Page For current information and to sign up for alerts visit Monterey County’sDepartment of Emergency Management website.  

San Luis Obispo County has issued Evacuation Warnings for areas affected by the Plaskett Fire – Visit https://www.readyslo.org/emergency/current-protective-actions/ for additional information.

REVISED FOREST CLOSURE ORDER: The Los Padres National Forest has issued an Area Closure for Forest Service managed lands surrounding the Timber and Plaskett Fires.  Full text of the Closure Order, and Closure Order Map. 

Timber Fire Information

2026.Timber@firenet.gov

(831) 285-7006

Website: inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/calpf-timber-fire

lospadresnationalforest

MontereyCountySheriffsOffice

MontereyCoInfo  

linktr.ee/CAL_FIRE_BEU

Good morning lovely Kate – I hope you and your structures are safe – as you know more than I do that the mail is still unable to get through from anywhere, Monterey, Ragged Point, Nacimiento. So we are keeping it safe and sound and organized down below the Monterey Post Office on the Webster Street side of the building, not the main lobby and retail area, if anyone is likewise trapped on this side and wants to collect their mail. As soon as the road is open to us we’ll have everything delivered that day or the next depending on what hour the road opens. 

I think it was Yogi Berra or another prominent philosopher that said, “This too shall pass” 🤷‍♂️

Also, one challenge we have is the phones. I forwarded the Big Sur phones to me but it didn’t take and now I can’t get back in my office to try programming it again. I hope to get that solved soon. (Helpdesk people are no help at all!)

So, Please don’t call the Monterey office line as their staff do not have any extra Big Sur information up there. 

We are open around the corner on the Webster Street side of the building 8:30 – 4pm 

If tracking numbers are indicating items were delivered in Big Sur after the road closure then they are safe and sound with me, waiting for the road to reopen. 👍