Santa Cruz Co. Fires: Power Lines Suspected; Containment Grows

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Officials have lifted all evacuation orders and firefighters expected full containment Wednesday night on most, if not all, of the wildfires blazing across Santa Cruz County.

Now, Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit Chief Ian Larkin is calling on the public to remain vigilant in the months to come, as this winter has been an unusually dry one. Fire is possible year-round, he said in a statement.

The blazes sparked late Monday and early Tuesday amid dry weather and a warning of high winds, which surged to near hurricane force in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The fires scorched 100 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but did not destroy any homes or cause any injuries, Cal Fire said.

Cal Fire believes that downed trees, tree limbs and power lines sparked more than 18 fires in the San Mateo-Santa Cruz region during an 18-hour time span, according to a statement from the agency. Cal Fire declined to state whether Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment was located in areas where fires are suspected to have originated, citing the ongoing investigation into the causes of the fires.

PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said in an email that the utility is working with Cal Fire and local first responders, and would not speculate on the cause of the outages.

"The safety of our customers, crews, and communities we serve is our most important responsibility," she wrote. "Strong winds have caused outages in several areas in Santa Cruz County, including near these fires."

PG&E opted to enact public safety power shutoffs to 5,200 across seven counties in California's Central Valley and Central Coast Tuesday in an attempt to avoid the possibility of a wildfire sparked by electrical equipment. Power was not shut off to PG&E customers in Santa Cruz County.

Though the National Weather Service has called current weather conditions "unseasonably mild and dry," Sarkissian said the PG&E team considered the "relatively high humidity levels," recent rains and lack of local red flag warnings when deciding whether a PSPS was warranted. The utility's network of 340 weather cameras in the region showed areas where brush had turned green.

In the end, more than 25,000 in Santa Cruz County were without power Tuesday due to wind-related outages and 18,000 awoke without power Wednesday. The hardest-hit areas Wednesday included Scotts Valley (4,400 affected), Ben Lomond (3,600 affected), Boulder Creek (2,900 affected), Santa Cruz (1,200 affected) and Zayante (1,000 affected).

Read more: 25K In Santa Cruz County Lose Power In Wind-Related Outages

Here's the latest on the Santa Cruz County wildfires

Firefighters worked through Tuesday night with minimal personnel and under dangerous conditions to tighten their grip on the wildfires. The flames grew as the winds flared, but firefighters gained control as they died down.

The Freedom Fire east of Aptos was 70 percent contained after scorching 37 acres as of 5:45 p.m. — up from 50 percent Wednesday morning, Cal Fire said. Residents of about 100 homes in the Bens Way, Nunes Road, Gillette Road, Halton Lane and Willow Heights areas were evacuated Tuesday.

The Panther Ridge Fire on Stapp Road, east of state Highway 9 near Boulder Creek, was 85 percent contained at 20 acres as of 5:45 p.m. — up from 70 percent Wednesday morning but down from 98 percent Tuesday night. Twenty Panther Ridge homes were evacuated Tuesday.

Another 22 acres of timber were burned in the China Grade Fire, which blazed four miles northwest of Boulder Creek on China Grade Road and Foxglove Lane. It was 98 percent contained as of 5:45 p.m. Wednesday — up slightly from Wednesday morning, but down from full containment Tuesday. No evacuations were issued.

Smaller fires were also reported in the Boulder Creek area.

The Bloom Fire at Little Basin Road and Upper Bloom Grade Road burned through nine acres and was 90 percent contained as of 5:30 p.m. — up from 50 percent Wednesday morning.

The Fanning Fire was 95 percent contained after burning 19 acres of timber on Fanning Grade Road east of Ben Lomond as of 7:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Another 20 acres burned in two vegetation fires — the Empire and Fanning fires — dubbed the Bonny Complex fires, according to Cal Fire. No evacuations were ordered in the Bonny Complex fires, which were 95 percent contained as of 5:45 p.m., down from full containment Tuesday afternoon.

All fires were staffed overnight, but a minimal number of firefighters was on scene, Cal Fire said Tuesday night. More engines were expected to arrive from outside the county overnight, and Cal Fire warned the public to stay vigilant.

Firefighters planned to rest at dark and resume work at first light, Cal Fire said. Nighttime conditions are dangerous because of limited visibility. "Trees can fall, but [firefighters] can't see what's above them in the darkness," Cal Fire said on Twitter.

This is the second round of fires to tear through the Santa Cruz Mountains in recent months.

The CZU August Lightning Complex fires were sparked by lightning in August and killed one person, scorched more than 85,500 acres and destroyed nearly 1,500 buildings. The fires were declared controlled only late last month.

Seasonably cooler and wetter weather is expected to return later this week and early next week, according to the National Weather Service.