Plaskett Fire becomes California’s third-largest this year, as the Big Sur community rallies.

About an hour after the Plaskett Fire broke out, John Handy, owner of Treebones Resort on the south coast of Big Sur, got the call that it would be wise to evacuate all guests. The call came from his son-in-law, Caleb Chesser, captain of Big Sur Fire’s South Coast station, on Wednesday Aug. 26, two days before evacuation orders went out.

“He knew a lot of chaos would be happening, and wanted people off the road,” Handy says, adding the resort was around 70-percent full. “The fire is kind of around us, but not coming right at us.”

Over the next five days, the Plaskett Fire ballooned and became the third-largest in the state this year, surpassing the size of the Timber Fire to the north, which has been burning since Aug. 8.

As of press time on Sept. 2, the Plaskett Fire had burned nearly 29,000 acres and was 1-percent contained, reaching South Coast Ridge Road to the north and spreading toward Fort Hunter Liggett to the east.

The Timber Fire had burned 25,220 acres and was 22-percent contained and relatively stable. One structure has been damaged due to the Plaskett Fire, while none have been reported damaged by the Timber Fire. The causes of both fires remain under investigation.

Firefighters have come from around the country to help fight the blazes. The Plaskett Fire’s rapid spread is attributed to steady winds and thick vegetation in areas without a fire in the past 50 years.

Treebones, while closed to guests, has become a base for firefighters, offering showers, coffee and lodging. The resort hosted 100 firefighters on Monday night, Aug. 31, and at one point, had at least 15 engines parked on site, according to Handy.

Many residents along Plaskett Ridge and Los Burros roads have chosen to stay to protect their homes, according to Danielle Brown, a Treebones supervisor. Brown has been living at Treebones for around five years. This is her first wildfire.

“My family is in Pennsylvania. If I leave, then I’m just away for days,” she says. “You can’t come back in and we don’t know how long this is going to be.” (Highway 1 is closed to vehicle traffic both to the north and the south.)

Organizations like the Community Association of Big Sur have created a relief fund to provide support to locals facing extraordinary expenses.

The Big Share, a fully volunteer-run local nonprofit, has been coordinating with residents, the office of U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, and the County of Monterey to execute a plan to deliver food and supplies to residents impacted by the fires. After picking up goods in Monterey, they will be able to travel through Fort Hunter Liggett and make delivery stops along Nacimiento, Gorda and Lucia.

Cool temperatures and higher humidity in the forecast as of press time are expected to provide favorable conditions for both fires, according to California Interagency Incident Management Team 7.

“It’s part of life here in Big Sur. We expect it, and it looks different each time,” says Helen Handshy of The Big Share. As of Sept. 1, she was under a shelter-in-place order due to the Timber Fire. “We’re looking at what winter is going to look like, not only with the predictions of an El Niño, but also now with the burn scars and the potential for landslides.”