Firefighters get in the air to see Big Sur Dolan Fire from above, and revise acreage burned to be higher.

On Saturday afternoon, the smoke in Big Sur finally cleared enough to allow firefighters to send an infrared-equipped aircraft up for an overhead mapping mission to view the perimeter of the Dolan Fire. 

That new intel is the primary reason for an increase in reported acreage today, up to 19,287 acres from an estimated 14,000 acres. 

Firefighters have focused primarily on two priorities in the Dolan Fire: point protection, meaning protecting homes and communications infrastructure, and keeping the fire east of Highway 1.

The fire did jump west of the highway once, to rugged and steep terrain where it's virtually impossible to fight the fire effectively, and firefighters were able to quickly put it out before it got out of control, Big Sur Fire Chief Matt Harris reported in a briefing on Saturday.

Harris, who leads the volunteer fire brigade that is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service to lead the firefighters, was insistent that residents abide by evacuation orders and Highway 1 closures, noting that Highway 1 is an active fire area, as well as a thoroughfare for firefighters to move equipment. He said evacuees who leave should not expect to get back while the evacuation order and road closures are in effect.

Highway 1 is closed from Troy Canyon in the north (at mile marker 38) to the New Calmoldoli Hermitage in the south (at mile marker 50). 

The evacuation area spans from Partington Ridge in the north to Lucia in the south. The fire is threatening homes and other structures in Partington Ridge, the Hermitage and Lucia; South Coast has been secured, according to the latest fire incident report.

Changing winds have the silver lining of improving air quality around the Dolan Fire, but firefighters are watching and waiting as a storm system moves in from the south throughout the day on Sunday, anticipating a "combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures that will contribute to extreme fire behavior," according to the U.S. Forest Service's Sunday morning briefing. "Thunderstorms with little to no precipitation are possible and will be accompanied by erratic and gusty outflow winds between 30 and 65 mph across the fire area."

The U.S. Forest Service-led firefighting team will move today, Sunday, into an incident command post at Big Sur Pfeiffer State Park. There will be no virtual briefing today while they move, but check the Los Padres National Forest Facebook page for regular briefings. 

There are currently 448 personnel fighting the Dolan Fire. Due to fire resources being spread across more than a million acres and hundreds of wildfires, the strategy has been to focus on protecting structures and infrastructure, rather than containment in the wilderness. North Coast Ridge Road has been holding as a fire break, officials reported yesterday.

A suspect has been arrested on charges of arson in connection to the Dolan Fire, which started on Tuesday night, Aug. 18 on the John Little State Natural Reserve.