The Timber Fire in the Big Sur area of Monterey County was 15% contained late Saturday afternoon at 4,869 acres, Cal Fire said.
The size of the fire in the Los Padres National Forest increased about 7% in 24 hours since being reported Friday afternoon at 4,545 acres.
“Aircraft hit the fire hard yesterday, reinforcing and connecting lines that were not yet completed by firefighters,” Cal Fire said Saturday.
Fire crews led by a Cal Fire incident management team made progress digging and reopening fire containment lines, with bulldozer containment lines on the north side of the fire complete, according to Cal Fire.
Hot spots were detected above homes in the Castro Canyon area, where Cal Fire said crews were focusing efforts on Saturday. There were 1,800 firefighters on the ground.
There were over 500 structures threatened, but none had been damaged or destroyed as of Saturday. No injuries were reported.
About 640 residents were under evacuation orders and about 350 more were under evacuation warnings as of Saturday.
All previous evacuation orders and warnings for residents from Partington Creek to Pheneger Creek and surrounding areas remained in place.
A 10-mile stretch of state Highway 1 in Big Sur was closed to support fire operations, Caltrans said. The highway was blocked from two miles north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to the Big Sur Bakery.
Cal Fire initially said the fire started on Aug. 9 but later clarified that it started on Aug. 8 near Timber Top Trail. It jumped Coastal Ridge Road and spread northwest toward Big Sur Campgrounds and several well-known restaurants and hotels.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.