Aug. 11 (UPI) — California issued evacuation orders and warnings Tuesday throughout Monterey County as a wildfire spread almost 2,500 acres along the state’s Big Sur coast.

The fire in central California started Sunday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. By Tuesday afternoon, it was considered about 5% contained. The cause was under investigation.

The fire originated in the Los Padres National Forest near Loma Vista, about 100 miles south of San Jose, and spread quickly, The New York Times reported. The Big Sur region draws millions of tourists each year and is known for its redwood forests and coastline. Several tourist attractions, including the Henry Miller Memorial Library, were in the evacuation areas.

“To the best of our knowledge, no buildings have been damaged or destroyed yet,” Josh Silveira, a battalion chief with Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency, told The Times.

“There is not a significant road system or hiking trail network out in this area,” he said. “There are some pretty off-grid camp sites deep into the forest. But there’s no real vehicle access. It’s true wilderness out in this area.”

As of about 2 p.m. PDT, State Route 1 was closed to the public in several locations because of the fire’s spread and evacuations, California Highway Patrol – Monterey said in a social media post.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said 480 firefighting personnel, eight helicopters, 36 engines and more resources were involved in fighting the fire as of Tuesday afternoon. Firefighting air tankers were also helping as conditions allowed.

The National Weather Service said there was a chance of isolated thunderstorms Wednesday in the region.

“We could run into a situation where we get dry lightning, especially in the higher elevations, and we could have some new fires starting along the central coast,” Dial Hoang, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told The Times. He said it’s unlikely but that if it happens, new fires could ignite and spread quickly.