By admin 
The bigger of the two wildfires that ripped through Big Sur in August is almost fully contained and all evacuation orders and warnings lifted, while the other blaze nears the halfway point.
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Four weeks after sparking on Aug. 26, the Plaskett Fire was 97% at just shy of 30,000 acres as of Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. The fire was only 1% contained at the start of the month, with the 2,300 firefighters working on the blaze at its peak.
The Timber Fire to the north, which started two weeks earlier but remained smaller, was 44% contained at 25,435 acres.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office lifted all evacuation orders and warnings associated with the Plaskett Fire by 6:12 p.m. on Wednesday, Cal Fire said.
“Plaskett Fire behavior remains minimal as crews continue securing and reinforcing containment lines throughout the fire area,” the agency said. “Operational focus remains on mop-up, patrol, suppression repair and monitoring for residual heat. Steep, rugged terrain and limited access continue to influence operations.”
Activity on the Timber Fire remains concentrated in remote, steep and difficult-to-access portions of the Ventana Wilderness, Cal Fire said.
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Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place for the Timber Fire, but several zones were downgraded or altogether lifted Wednesday.
Highway 1 fully reopened to drivers Monday after a 45-mile stretch was closed due to fire activity.
Current Southern California wildfires
This map shows wildfires that have been updated within the past 7 days from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN) and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The larger the circle, the larger the wildfire by acres. Data is from the US Department of the Interior, Office of Wildland Fire, IRWIN, NIFC, NASA, NOAA and ESRI.
Steve Wilson [email protected]
This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 10:16 AM with the headline “Evacuation orders lifted as Big Sur wildfire nears full containment.”
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