Plaskett Fire breaks out in Big Sur as crews continue to battle Timber Fire
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. -- Fire crews continuing to fight the growing Timber Fire are working to battle another fire that broke out Wednesday morning in southern Monterey County and has prompted an evacuation order.
According to Cal Fire, the Plaskett Fire is located about 40 miles south of the Timber Fire east of Plaskett, an unincorporated community along the coast. The fire, which was first reported around 11 a.m., has so far burned 100 acres.
An evacuation order for the Plaskett Fire has been issued for Zone MRY-F036. Evacuation warnings are in effect for zones MRY-F035 and MRY-F037. A map of these zones can be found at https://www.readymontereycounty.org/emergency/alerts.
The Timber Fire is burning in the Central Coast wilderness around Big Sur. The fire grew overnight to nearly 18,000 acres and has prompted numerous evacuation orders, according to Cal Fire.
Neil Gamboa is a planning operations section chief for the Timber Fire with the California Incident Management Team 3, which is one of eight specialized groups of joint emergency personnel from federal, state and local agencies that are deployed to large-scale disasters.
MORE: Timber Fire pushes deeper into Monterey Co. wilderness as flames, evacuations expand: CAL FIRE
Gamboa said that some resources from the Timber Fire are being used to manage the Plaskett Fire. Response to the Timber Fire transitioned this week from Cal Fire to California Incident Management Team 3.
He said in a briefing Wednesday that a "big" contingent was heading to the Plaskett Fire "along with a heavy onset of air force to help support that."
Gamboa said that additional resources may be deployed to the Plaskett Fire if needed. As of noontime Wednesday, several firefighting teams, engines, and air tactical units have responded.
According to a Cal Fire update, the fire is 0% contained. The fire is growing at a "moderate rate of spread" and is located in "very difficult terrain that is hard to access," the agency wrote in an update.
Given that the Plaskett Fire is still in its infancy, Gamboa said he did not know how the new fire may affect the response to the Timber Fire.
Residents who want to view emergency updates with evacuation information can visit here or sign up for Alert Monterey County here to receive alerts through calls, text messages or emails.
