By admin 
A portion of Highway 1 north of the San Luis Obispo County line has reopened as crews continue to make steady progress on the Plaskett Fire, one of two wildfires that have burned more than 55,000 acres along California’s scenic Big Sur coast.
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The highway is not yet open to through traffic, but the closed stretch was cut in half on Wednesday and now runs from mile marker 10.5 near the Willow Springs Caltrans Yard, just north of Gorda, to Kirk Creek Campground at mile marker 19.
That means drivers coming from San Luis Obispo County can now reach the southern end of the coastline, including popular spots like Salmon Creek Falls.
The evacuation warning for zones in SLO County was also lifted, though many orders and warnings remain in effect in Monterey County.
Meanwhile, growth on the two fires has slowed considerably over the past week, totaling 55,265 acres as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire.
Containment continues to rise on Plaskett Fire
As of Wednesday morning, the Plaskett Fire — the larger of the two fires — was 61% contained and had burned around 29,885 acres north of the San Luis Obispo-Monterey county line, up from around 37% containment on Monday, according to Cal Fire.
In a Facebook post, Los Padres National Forest said crews achieved a significant milestone when they completed “a continuous system of handline, dozer line, roads and other containment features around the entire fire.”
“For the past three days, six Interagency Hotshot Crews have been ‘coyote spiked’ along the rugged eastern edge of the fire,” Los Padres said. “Four crews worked south from the northern end while two worked north from the south, constructing handline directly along the fire’s edge.
Coyote spiking is when crews forming temporary overnight camps near the fire lines to reduce travel back to the main base camp.
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“Yesterday, that hard work paid off. The crews met and tied their handline together, closing one of the remaining gaps around the fire,” the forest service said. “With that connection complete, there is now handline, dozer line, roads or other containment features around the entire Plaskett Fire.”
According to Cal Fire’s report, crews on the ground were working to strengthen control lines and secure areas of previous fire growth, while containment lines along the eastern portion of the Plaskett Fire are still being connected to each other.
“Strategic firing operations and aviation support continue to assist containment efforts,” Cal Fire’s report read. “Steep, rugged terrain and limited access continue to challenge suppression operations.”
Timber Fire containment goes slower
To the north, containment has held steady at 27% on the 25,380-acre Timber Fire since the weekend, according to Cal Fire.
The Timber Fire remained active due to isolated heat sources reigniting under warmer, dryer conditions, according to Cal Fire. Crews were continuing to engage in direct and indirect suppression on the northwest and southwest portions of the fire, and the northwest portion of the fire remained the highest threat, according to Cal Fire.
Hot, dry conditions with poor overnight humidity stemming from the active heat advisory were expected to continue through Thursday, though Friday was expected to bring cooler temperatures through the weekend, according to Cal Fire.
Evacuation orders and warnings remained in effect for several zones in Monterey County.
This story was originally published September 9, 2026 at 3:29 PM with the headline “Part of Hwy. 1 reopens north of SLO County as Big Sur fire containment improves.”
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