BIG SUR, Calif. — Firefighters struggled Thursday to get the upper hand on a massive wildfire burning along California’s picturesque Big Sur coastline, where anxious residents driven from their homes awaited word on their properties and popular parks and trails closed at the height of tourist season.

The blaze spanning 42 square miles (109 square kilometers) has destroyed at least 34 homes and put at least 2,000 buildings at risk. A 35-year-old father of two girls was killed this week when the bulldozer he was operating rolled over on the fire lines.

The fire has burned for a week and is only 10 percent contained. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimated it will take until the end of August to extinguish it.

“Every day the fire is gaining ground on us,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Robert Fish said. “The weather and steep and rugged terrain is taking its toll. So we’ll make progress, but then the fire is making progress faster than we can keep pace with.”

Firefighters worked in rugged terrain near State Highway 1 in an area that draws tourists from around the world for the dramatic vistas of ocean and mountains. The famous roadway remained open, but smoke and the threat of flames forced the closure of state parks near Big Sur, a big economic driver for the region.

Tom and Donna Huntington, both 65, have lived for 29 years in the community of Palo Colorado, which was hard-hit by the fire. They fled their home last Friday and have been staying with friends and a Red Cross shelter at a school.

“It’s a heartbreaker. I could cry right now,” Tom Huntington said. “I’m so lucky I didn’t lose my house. people that have. All they had was what they wore that day. … All their stuff — just poof.”