Firefighters have made modest gains in a growing wildfire in the Big Sur region of California's Central Coast.
Although the Timber Fire grew to more than 4,000 acres overnight, increased humidity and a persistent marine layer helped firefighters boost containment to 7%, up from 5%, where it had remained since Sunday.
While "the fire continued to burn actively above the marine layer overnight," according to the U.S. Forest Service in an Aug. 13 Facebook post, "very little fire activity was observed as humidity rose to almost 90% under the heavy marine layer."
The marine layer is expected to "dominate for the next few days," the U.S. Forest Service notes, while "a warming, drying trend is anticipated into the weekend."
Firefighting operations Thursday "will focus on the same priorities, engaging direct line construction where possible to cut the fire off from impacting structures," the post continued. Overnight "engines assigned behind structures west of Highway 1 remained in place" to ensure they were not impacted by fire. According to Cal Fire, 503 structures are threatened by the Timber Fire.
Meanwhile, "day shift crews are working actively to open old fire lines as contingency as well as finding safe and effective places to put new lines as close as possible to the active fire edge," the U.S. Forest continued in its morning update.
Now in its fifth day, the wildfire has triggered evacuations of residents and visitors, closed state parks and popular businesses throughout the area and led to the closure of a segment of Highway 1.
Burning in steep, rugged terrain in the Los Padres National Forest, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira called the wildfire "challenging" as is typical of fires in Big Sur during an Aug. 12 news briefing. While weather conditions may help moderate fire conditions, Silveira said "we can't change the topography."
According to Cal Fire's Aug. 13 morning incident report, the wildfire has consumed 4,245 acres.
The Timber Fire began Saturday, Aug. 8 at 9:38 p.m. in a remote location southeast of Loma Vista in the Los Padres National Forest near the community of Big Sur, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Timber Fire has forced evacuations of residents and guests staying at lodging in Big Sur, while all state parks in the region have been closed.
Point Sur State Historic Park, Andrew Molera, Pfeiffer Big Sur and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Parks have all closed, along with popular Big Sur locales, Nepenthe and The Henry Miller Library, which implored in a Facebook post, "Do not come to Big Sur."
Visitors are advised to avoid the region, while a section of Highway 1 at Big Sur has been closed to facilitate firefighting and emergency operations.
Highway 1 is closed from Post Mile 37.5 by the Big Sur Bakery/Big Sur Post Office to Fernwood (Post Mile 47), according to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
Motorists traveling to Monterey County from the south are advised to find an alternative route via Highway 101. Motorists can use HOW2HWY1 for more information.
Evacuation orders remain in place for areas near the fire, which were first issued over the weekend and expanded as the Timber Fire spread. According to Cal Fire, 503 residents have been evacuated.
More than 1,000 fire personnel have been assigned to the Timber Fire, drawing the support of multiple agencies, including U.S. Forest Service, Cal Fire, Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Monterey County Department of Emergency Management and the county's public information team.
On Aug. 11, a day and night surveillance aircraft, USFS FireWatch 51, was launched from southern California for a mapping and fire intel mission to assist local fire units.
Local knowledge of the vast, rugged terrain proved pivotal in the blaze's initial days.
"Our hats go off to the initial responders that went to this incident," Silveira said. "The folks from the Big Sur Fire Brigade were instrumental Saturday evening when this kicked off. Chief Harris and his folks down there really engaged the fire aggressively and did the best they could in those challenging conditions and really set us to understand the area."
He added that the Big Sur fire service, which is volunteer driven and funded almost entirely by grants, individual donations, and fundraising events, according to its website, continues to provide valuable assistance because "they have that local knowledge."
Additional support has been provided by American Red Cross, which jointly with Monterey County has established an emergency shelter for evacuees in nearby Carmel, while The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is offering assistance evacuating and sheltering pets impacted by the Timber Fire.
PG&E has also deployed its fire protection crews to protect critical infrastructure and support emergency response operations, according to PG&E.
"Five Safety Infrastructure Protection Team (SIPT) engines and a supervisor responding to the fire," said Communications Representative Stephanie Magallon in an Aug. 12 email. "They are applying fire retardant to utility poles and helping maintain safe access routes for firefighters and emergency responders."
There are 15 active wildfires currently occurring in California, according to Cal Fire.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Weather, terrain shape progress against Timber Fire