Conditions described here were accurate only as of the date shown and may have changed. This is not a substitute for current official information from the agency with jurisdiction. See the full notice. Full notice.
Big Sur Backcountry Closure Now Runs to January 31
A new Los Padres order replaces the August one for the Timber and Plaskett fire areas, and it is long.
Los Padres National Forest has issued a new emergency closure for the Monterey Ranger District, covering the Timber and Plaskett fire areas. Order 05-07-51-26-11 was signed September 25, takes effect today, and runs through January 31, 2027 unless the forest lifts or changes it sooner. It supersedes the order issued at the end of August.
The closure covers National Forest land in three pieces: the main backcountry area, the Brazil Ranch parcel north of Big Sur, and the Carmel River guard station. Inside them, being on forest land, forest roads or forest trails is prohibited. The order lists about sixty roads and nearly seventy trails. Among the ones people ask about most: Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, Tassajara Road, Arroyo Seco Road beyond the campground entrance, the Coast Ridge roads, Plaskett Ridge Road, and the Pine Ridge, Kirk Creek, Vicente Flat, Cone Peak and Big Sur trails.
Exempt are fire and rescue crews and officers on duty, landowners and residents getting to their own property unless an evacuation order is in place, and people holding a Forest Service permit that names them. Violations carry fines up to $5,000 for an individual.
Highway 1 and the state parks are not Forest Service land and are not governed by this order. The order's Exhibit B map shows the boundary; check it, and the state parks' own pages, before planning anything on the coast between Molera and Salmon Creek.
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