RAGGED POINT, Calif. (KEYT) - Two wildfires burning in Monterey County along the scenic Big Sur coastline are causing impacts to parts of neighboring San Luis Obispo County.
As of Tuesday early afternoon, the Plaskett Fire, which is burning just north of the border of San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties had burned nearly 29,000 acres, making it currently the largest wildfire in California.
About 35 miles north along Highway 1, near Big Sur, the Timber Fire is also burning and has scorched more than 25,000 acres.
Together, the two fires are causing a significant amount of smoke, some of which is moving south into San Luis Obispo County.
On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) issued an alert that indicated air quality is deteriorating across the North County.
"It is very disappointing to see it so smoky and know what's happening behind those mountains that it's burning," said Jane Zachrich of Peoria, Arizona while visiting Ragged Point Tuesday morning. "But it's beautiful down below and the ocean."
According to the APCD, sensors in the Lake Nacimiento area showed air quality is most impacted in Paso Robles and Atascadero.
In response to the Plaskett Fire and its proximity to San Luis Obispo County, the county has issued Evacuation Warnings for the following three Evacuation Zones located along the far North Coast area:
SLC-001: Cambria Area/Far Northwest corner of SLO County. North of San Carpoforo Creek, South of Monterey County Boundary, West of Cabrillo Highway (CA-1)
SLC-002: Cambria Area/Coastal Region of Northwest SLO County. North of San Carpoforo Creek, South of Monterey County Boundary, East of Cabrillo Highway.
SLC-003: Northwest corner of SLO County. North of San Carpoforo Creek, South of Monterey County Boundary, East of Cabrillo Highway.
The fires have also caused Highway 1 to be closed to traffic just north of Ragged Point. The windy roadway is a major attractive for visitors, but is now blocked off for anyone wanting to travel from San Luis Obispo County into the Big Sur region.
"It is very disappointing," said Bill Hanly of Bakersfield, while stopping at Ragged Point. For people traveling from other countries and wanting to come and see California coastline and they can't."
While Highway 1 is closed in both directions, at Hearst Castle, San Luis Obispo County's most famous tourist attraction, fire has not caused any current impacts.
"At this point, our operations are business as usual," said Dan Falat, California State Parks SLO County District Superintendent. "Operations are not changing at this point in time. We continue to monitor kind of the movement of the fire and prepare, just in case we have to go into any type of emergency situation."
Falat recalled the Chimney Fire burned to within just a mile and a half of Hearst Castle in 2016, so everyone on staff is keeping a very close eye on conditions.
"Our crews are both ready to respond," said Falat. "We are just making sure going through our checks to make sure that we can have everybody here safely and make sure we protect the park to the best of our ability."
After of Tuesday evening, the Plaskett Fire was listed at only 1% contained, while the Timber Fire was at 22% containment.
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