BIG SUR, Calif. -- A wildfire burning in the Big Sur area started when a car crashed over a cliff, Monterey County sheriff's officials said.

The blaze, which started on Thursday, was burning Friday about five miles south of Nepenthe Restaurant.

About 20 acres have burned so far. The blaze was listed as under control but not contained.

Officials said 52-year-old Steve Borba was found alive near the car wreckage.

The fire was so intense at one point that it pushed firefighters back. The blaze crossed Highway 1 and headed up Partington Ridge near a community of about 40 homes.

Sheriff's deputies who rescued Borba from the wreckage said Borba claimed he was at the scene of the crash since Tuesday and did not start the blaze.

Authorities added that they did not know if the crash was an accident of if Borba intentionally drove the car of the cliff.

Highway 1 was closed Friday from just south of Nepenthe to just south of Julia Pffeiffer Burns State Park.

CHP was escorting cars in the area and expected to open the highway to unrestricted flow later in the day.