State Highway 1 fully reopened through Big Sur on Saturday afternoon, according to Caltrans, allowing motorists to travel the iconic coastal route for the first time since Aug. 11. Caltrans lifted the closure on a 10-mile stretch between Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park at 1 p.m., removing the final major roadblock for drivers seeking to traverse Monterey County.
Highway 1 Reopening Restores Big Sur Access
The reopening of the 10-mile corridor restores continuous travel along Highway 1 from the Bay Area through Big Sur, a route that had been fractured since emergency crews first responded to the blaze. According to Cal Fire statements, the wildfire has burned 7,591 acres in Monterey County and reached 29% containment by Saturday afternoon. The fire is currently moving northeast toward the Los Padres National Forest, away from populated coastal zones.
Hotels and restaurants began reopening their doors on Thursday and Friday, with additional businesses welcoming visitors on Saturday. Colin Twohig, general manager of the Big Sur River Inn, noted that the business was open and taking reservations, adding that the area avoided a worse outcome given historical wildfire threats in the region.
At least one area restaurant estimated it was losing $70,000 per day while shuttered during the height of July and August tourism. Utility crews from PG&E also worked to replace burned electrical poles and power lines after outages left parts of the community without electricity for 13 days.
Fire Response and Mitigation Efforts
Despite ranking as the third-largest wildfire in California this year, Cal Fire reported that not a single structure has burned and no injuries or fatalities have been recorded. Fire officials attributed the successful defense of the community to favorable weather patterns, including steady ocean winds, cool coastal temperatures in the 70s, and steady fog that moderated fire spread.
Resource deployment peaked the previous weekend with 2,177 firefighters, 10 helicopters, 194 engines, 30 bulldozers, and C-130 air tankers assigned to the incident. As containment lines solidified along the western edge of the fire, commanders scaled back personnel. By Friday, the deployment dropped to 1,472 firefighters, 9 helicopters, 102 engines, and 15 bulldozers.
“The structure threat has been minimized along the coast and ridge, which is a huge win for us as a community,” said Matt Harris, chief of Big Sur Fire, the area’s volunteer fire department, in a message to residents. Harris noted that the fire will continue to burn in the remote backcountry of the Los Padres National Forest for days or weeks.
Status of Parks and Backcountry Operations
While hotels, restaurants, and roadway access are returning to normal, state parks within the burn zone remain closed to the public. Exclusive lodging properties, such as the Post Ranch Inn and Alila Ventana Inn, have not yet announced definitive reopening dates.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira described the firefighting strategy as a slow and steady operation focused on securing containment lines. Emergency officials previously lifted evacuation orders for three of the five areas that had been under them as the threat to residential and commercial properties subsided.
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