Plaskett Fire Nears 29,000 Acres While Containment Stalls at 1%

LATEST: Fire reaches 28,968 acres and remains 1% contained

BIG SUR, Calif. — The Plaskett Fire has reached 28,968 mapped acres while containment remains at just 1%, according to CAL FIRE's 6:24 a.m. September 2 update. The total is 1,388 acres above the previously published 27,580-acre figure and 13,489 acres larger than Sunday's 15,479-acre estimate.

The new total makes Plaskett California's second-largest wildfire of 2026, according to a San Francisco Chronicle comparison of state incident data. It has surpassed the nearby Timber Fire; only the 69,000-plus-acre Biscar Fire has burned more acreage in the state this year.

CAL FIRE says fire behavior moderated overnight as cooler temperatures and improved humidity recovery helped crews. The eastern portion remains the primary operational concern, however, as the fire continues burning toward and into Fort Hunter Liggett through steep terrain and heavy fuels.

Crews are strengthening control lines and securing the western portion while monitoring activity across the perimeter. Forecast cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity are expected to support suppression work, but officials have not announced a major containment gain.

The latest acreage is a mapped estimate. Wildfire totals can jump when aircraft and analysts obtain better perimeter data, so the full increase should not automatically be interpreted as land that burned only after the previous public update. The official numbers nevertheless document continued growth while containment remains nearly nonexistent.

The active Monterey County evacuation orders are MRY-F034, MRY-F035, MRY-F036, MRY-F037, MRY-F038, MRY-G012-A and MRY-G016. Monterey warnings remain in effect for MRY-F033, MRY-G011-A, MRY-G012-B and MRY-G015.

CAL FIRE's 6:45 p.m. update resolves an earlier conflict in the agency's postings: evacuation orders remain in effect in Monterey County, while San Luis Obispo County zones SLC-001, SLC-002 and SLC-003 are under evacuation warnings. An earlier 2:47 p.m. update had described the three San Luis Obispo County zones as orders. Residents should follow the later status and continue checking the live ReadySLO map or local emergency alerts because conditions can change quickly.

Highway 1 is now closed from Mile Marker 0.09, just north of the San Luis Obispo County line, to Mile Marker 56 south of the Little Sur River. The southern closure was moved farther south Sunday afternoon. No reopening estimate has been announced.

Two shelters are listed: the Carmel Mission Inn Conference Room at 3665 Rio Road in Carmel and the Cambria Veterans Memorial Building at 1000 Main Street in Cambria.

The cause remains under investigation. The official incident page does not publish completed totals for destroyed or damaged structures or civilian and firefighter injuries. Missing totals must not be treated as proof that no losses occurred.

Read the source: CAL FIRE: Current Plaskett Fire status, evacuation zones and incident updates ↗

Mapped acreage has climbed seventeenfold since Thursday evening

The official incident page recorded the blaze at 1,700 acres Thursday evening, 2,774 acres Friday morning, 5,924 acres Friday night, 8,241 acres Saturday, 15,479 acres Sunday, 26,734 acres Monday night, 27,580 acres Tuesday morning and 28,968 acres in the latest update. From Thursday evening to the current estimate, mapped acreage increased by 27,268 acres—about 1,604%.

Acreage estimates can change when crews and mapping aircraft obtain better perimeter information, so not every additional mapped acre necessarily burned during the interval between public updates. Even with that limitation, the revised figure marks a severe escalation in the incident.

The fire started at 11:01 a.m. August 26 near Forest Road 23S10, east of Los Burros Road in the Plaskett area of Monterey County. Its cause remains under investigation. Officials have not published a completed accounting of injuries or structure losses on the incident page.

Read the source: KSBW: Plaskett Fire reaches 28,968 acres while containment remains 1% ↗

Seven zones ordered to evacuate immediately

Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for Monterey County zones MRY-F034, MRY-F035, MRY-F036, MRY-F037, MRY-F038, MRY-G012-A and MRY-G016. CAL FIRE's 2:11 p.m. Sunday status report is the first current official incident record reviewed for this update that lists MRY-F038 as an order instead of a warning.

Evacuation warnings cover Monterey County zones MRY-F033, MRY-G011-A, MRY-G012-B and MRY-G015, plus San Luis Obispo County zones SLC-001, SLC-002 and SLC-003. CAL FIRE explicitly confirmed the San Luis Obispo County classification in its 6:45 p.m. update after an earlier agency post used conflicting language.

People who need additional time, along with residents moving pets or livestock, are urged to leave during the warning stage rather than wait for conditions to worsen.

Residents should check Ready Monterey County's official emergency map before traveling or returning. Fire perimeters and evacuation boundaries can change rapidly, and social-media screenshots may be outdated by the time they are shared.

Read the source: San Luis Obispo Tribune: Plaskett Fire spreads to 28,968 acres ↗

Highway 1 and national forest lands closed

Highway 1 is closed from Mile Marker 0.09 just north of the San Luis Obispo County line to Mile Marker 56 south of the Little Sur River. Officials moved the southern closure point farther south Sunday afternoon and have not provided an estimated reopening time.

The Los Padres National Forest also issued an emergency closure Saturday covering National Forest System lands, roads and trails in the Monterey Ranger District closure area. Pfeiffer Beach and Sycamore Canyon Road remain open under the order, which includes limited exemptions for emergency personnel, qualifying residents and permit holders.

Officials say violations of the federal closure can carry fines of up to $5,000 for individuals, up to $10,000 for organizations, up to six months in jail, or both. The closure is scheduled to remain until the Timber and Plaskett fires are declared out unless officials revise it sooner.

Firefighters reported moderated activity overnight as cooler temperatures and improved humidity recovery helped slow fire behavior. Ground crews are strengthening control lines while aircraft support suppression operations when conditions allow.

The fire has been difficult to reach because of steep canyons, sparse roads and rugged terrain. Crews have used roads and ridgelines for control lines while protecting buildings along Los Burros Road and near Pacific Valley.

Read the source: San Francisco Chronicle: Plaskett becomes California's second-largest wildfire of 2026 ↗

Erratic winds heighten the danger

Officials warned Friday that isolated thunderstorms could produce erratic outflow winds of up to 40 mph. Drying fuels could allow fire activity to increase and carry embers roughly one-tenth to two-tenths of a mile ahead of the main fire.

Six helicopters were assigned Friday morning, but officials cautioned that air-tanker availability could be limited because of heavy national demand. Aircraft can also be grounded or redirected when smoke, wind or thunderstorms make flying unsafe.

The Associated Press separately confirmed the evacuations, Highway 1 disruptions and heightened fire danger. The Plaskett Fire is burning south of the Timber Fire, another active Big Sur blaze that Plaskett has now surpassed in mapped acreage. Authorities say the causes of both fires remain under investigation.

Read the source: San Francisco Chronicle: Plaskett Fire nearly doubles and triggers new evacuations ↗