Developing analysis · Record 005
Plaskett Fire,
Big Sur coast.
A dated record of rapid growth, containment progression, Highway 1 impacts and a small but visible disagreement between two official CAL FIRE publishing surfaces.
Editorial review: 21 September 2026 · Version 1
Latest reviewed snapshot
Near containment, still listed active.
CAL FIRE’s active-incidents index lists the Plaskett Fire at 30,124 acres and 97% containment. The incident began on 26 August east of Los Burros Road in Monterey County and remains listed as active.
The dedicated CAL FIRE page identifies Los Padres National Forest as the agency having jurisdiction and links to federal incident information.
The cause remains under investigation in the reviewed official sources.
Evolution of knowledge
Same containment, different acreage.
At review time, two CAL FIRE surfaces agree on 97% containment but do not display the same acreage.
Newer statewide incident-list value visible at review time.
Page snapshot marked last updated 18 September 2026 at 12:44 PM.
The 131-acre difference may reflect a newer mapping update or publication lag, but the public pages reviewed here do not explicitly explain it. The discrepancy is therefore preserved rather than resolved by assumption.
Growth history
From initial attack to 30,000 acres.
The incident expanded rapidly between its first-day reports and early September, then shifted toward increasing containment with comparatively modest acreage change.
Access & operations
Highway 1 became part of the incident footprint.
Dated CAL FIRE updates document evacuation zones and closures along the southern Big Sur coast during active operations.
On 13 September, CAL FIRE reported a Highway 1 closure between Kirk Creek Campground and Los Burros Road. Later regional updates reported the corridor reopening as conditions improved.
The 7 September update listed 2,211 personnel, 145 engines, 12 helicopters, 31 dozers and 58 hand crews.
Official updates repeatedly described steep, rugged terrain and limited access as operational constraints while crews secured direct and indirect control lines.
CAL FIRE updates describe coordinated management across the Plaskett and Timber fires as resources and incident teams worked along the same wider corridor.
Evidence discipline
What remains unknown.
- A final technical cause finding.
- The exact reason for the current 131-acre difference between CAL FIRE publishing surfaces.
- A complete time-aligned perimeter series for rigorous growth-rate analysis.
- A final inventory of suppression impacts and post-fire slope or debris-flow hazards.
- The final closure status of every trail, road and public-land area affected during the incident.
Compare Plaskett with the Timber Fire in the Big Sur 2026 cluster →
Provenance
Sources and release.
- CAL FIRE — active incidents index ↗Source for 30,124 acres and 97% containment at review time.
- CAL FIRE — Plaskett Fire incident page ↗Source for 29,993 acres, 97% containment, jurisdiction, cause state and latest dedicated-page timestamp.
- CAL FIRE — 26 August update ↗Source for the early 40-acre, 0%-containment snapshot.
- CAL FIRE — 6 September update ↗Source for 29,831 acres, 31% containment and dated operational context.
- CAL FIRE — 7 September update ↗Source for 29,862 acres, 47% containment and the 2,211-person response.
- CAL FIRE — 13 September update ↗Source for 29,961 acres, 89% containment and dated Highway 1 closure information.
Version 1 · 21 September 2026: initial developing record with source discrepancy, growth history, Highway 1 context and evidence gaps.