Timber Fire, Big Sur, California (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 47

10,296Hectares25,443Acres47Days burning

Containment59%

Started on Aug 9, 2026. 41% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

82Active692Hotspots 48h1.2 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Timber Fire (California) — Sentinel-2 true color

Timber Fire (California) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

True view Fire view

⟷

True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Active fires nearby1 · 100 km

44KM SEPlaskett Fire29,993 acres · 97% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 4 miles southeast of Big Sur, CA
People working on it: 679 people
Complexity: Type 1 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Tall Grass (2.5 feet)
How it's behaving: Moderate, Uphill RunsCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Jurisdiction: USFS · Federal land

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

Burning across federal land managed by the USFS, the active Timber Fire near Big Sur, California, has consumed 25,443 acres over 46 days of burning since it started on August 9, 2026. The incident, currently managed by a Complex Incident Management Team as a Type 1 Incident with 679 personnel assigned, maintains an average daily growth of approximately 553 acres per day. Satellites are picking up a low heat signature nearby with one heat detection over the past 48 hours, reflecting the current conditions.

Fire behavior on the Monterey County incident is characterized as moderate, creeping, backing, and making uphill runs through 2.5-foot tall grass fuels. Despite these active fronts, suppression efforts have brought the containment level to 59 percent, with total suppression costs reaching $174,059,636.

This fire is occurring within the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 3,270,726 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 40% below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in California for 46 days. So far it has affected roughly 25,443 acres — about 103 km². About 59% of the perimeter is contained — over half is secured, though hotspots remain.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.