Firefighters confront two growing wildfires from all directions.

A combination of shifting wind direction and dry vegetation has led to the growth of the Timber Fire, which started on Saturday, Aug. 8 near Timber Top camp, a popular hiking destination in Big Sur. As of 7am Saturday, Aug. 29, the fire is 24,408 acres and is 21-percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

As firefighters worked to contain the Timber Fire, another fire, the Plaskett Fire, sparked to the south on Wednesday, Aug. 26 off Los Burros Road about two miles east of Highway 1, in an area near Willow Creek also used for camping. The Plaskett Fire is 5,924 acres and 0-percent contained as of 7am Saturday.

The causes of both fires are currently under investigation. 

"Part of the reason why any fire spreads is a shift in wind. The wind, in the past few days, has been shifting around even if it was predominantly southwest," says Public Information Officer Jody Anastasio. "But a bigger part of the reason [for the continued spread] is the terrain and the drying of the fuels."

"As the fire gets closer it dries things out even more because the heat is coming up toward unburned areas. In the next 24 hours, fire growth is going to be predominantly terrain and fuels-driven," Anastasio says.

In a 7am update on Saturday, Aug. 29, Fire Behavior Analyst Dan Lerma reported on some successful efforts fighting the Timber Fire since Aug. 28. "Overnight, a lot of good work done to secure the fire in and around Pfeiffer [Big Sur] State Park," he said of the northwestern flank of the fire. 

Crews have been backburning to protect infrastructure and homes in the area, and successfully brought the fire line on the northwestern side down to Highway 1 overnight, and plan to continue burning operations on Saturday from Manuel Peak (on the northern side of the Big Sur River) west to Highway 1.

To the northeast, as the Timber Fire moves through the Los Padres National Forest toward upper Carmel Valley in the direction of the Los Padres Reservoir, officials are encouraging community members to be prepared. "We are expecting the fire to progress a little more rapidly than it has," Lerma said of the northeastern side.

According to Operations Section Chief Nathan Arellano, crews will be working today to improve lines to the east of the Timber Fire from Chews Ridge to Arroyo Seco, and putting together structure defense plans, in the event that fire does get there."

On the southern side of the Timber Fire overnight, "fire activity was pretty low, and all containment lines held well," according to a USFS update.

The Plaskett Fire is smaller, but also growing quickly. "The Plaskett incident was very active throughout the entire day yesterday, and has moved down onto the 1," Lerma said. Crews are hoping to use Highway 1 as a western containment line and successfully defended all structures in the area overnight. Other lines remain more uncertain. 

"On north end our crews are going to be challenged to hold some of those dozer lines they have constructed," he said. "On the eastern edge of the fire, this is the biggest concern as the wind increases." 

The Plaskett Fire did "slop over" 2 acres beyond South Coast Ridge Road overnight between Aug. 28-29; crews were able to suppress the slop-over, bringing the edge of the fire back to the road. It did prompt crews to look further east in Fort Hunter Liggett to work on additional lines, in case the road does not hold up as a containment line. 

A community meeting for information on both the Timber and Plaskett fires will take place at 4pm Saturday, Aug. 29 at Cachagua Community Park (37700 Nason Road) in Carmel Valley. The meeting will also be available via livestream on the County of Monterey's YouTube page. 

Free shelters for evacuees are now open both to the south and the north. In Cambria, the Veterans Building at 1000 Main St. has a 48-bed capacity. In Carmel, the County of Monterey and American Red Cross are operating a temporary shelter in the conference room of the Carmel Mission (at 3665 Rio Road).

In addition, a temporary evacuation point at the Carmel Valley Branch Library (65 W. Carmel Valley Road) is a hub for information. For more information, call (831) 647-7760.

Highway 1 is closed to all traffic except emergency personnel between the Little Sur River in the north to Gorda in the south. Residents who opted to stay in proximity of the Timber Fire in Big Sur Valley are under shelter-in-place orders and have been advised to be prepared to hunker down for up to a week.

To sign up to receive alerts and stay up-to-date on evacuation warnings and orders, visit readymontereycounty.org.