Dubbed the Timber Fire, the blaze is burning in Los Padres National Forest.
Evacuation warnings were issued by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office at 3:30 p.m. for residents in zones MRY-F026 and MRY-F027, which are in the area of Partington Ridge Road and North Coast Ridge Road.
Evacuation zones can be found at alertmry.org/alerts.
The warning does not include the Alila Ventana Big Sur resort, the Sheriff's Office said.
Evacuation warnings urge residents to prepare to receive orders to evacuate at any time. The warning period is meant for people to begin gathering property, pets and anything else that needs preparation time to evacuate.
Once evacuation orders are given, residents are obligated to leave their homes immediately to protect emergency workers and themselves.
The response is being led by the U.S. Forest Service, with CAL FIRE and other agencies supporting with air and ground resources.
The fire sparked at about 10:45 a.m. southeast of the unincorporated area of Loma Vista.