Cal Fire is sending fresh crews to try to stop a wildfire that ignited Sunday in the mountains east of the Salinas Valley town of Soledad.
The Metz Fire burned about 3,900 acres -- six square miles -- in about five hours Sunday afternoon and evening.
The fire swept through sparsely populated grassland in Monterey County's Gabilan Range and is 40 percent contained as of Monday morning.
The fire is the biggest in the state since last fall, Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
The area's characteristically gusty winds pose the biggest challenge in containing the blaze.