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May 23, 2008 12:09 am US/Pacific

Permitted Burn Blamed For Starting Summit Fire

 Traffic Alert: Road Closures Due To Fire
 Weather Alert: Current Conditions For Santa Cruz Area

 Map: Summit Fire Location & Evacuations (.pdf)
 Send Us Your Fire Photos/Video

Reporting
Joe Vazquez
CORRALITOS (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Fire officials told CBS 5 that smoldering brush from a homeowner's legally permitted burn ignited a wildfire Thursday that burned about a dozen homes and more than 3,400 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

With winds starting to die down by nightfall, firefighters hoped to be able to finally make some headway against the Summit Fire. So far, no injuries had been reported.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for
Santa Cruz County as thick clouds of smoke from the out-of-control blaze towered over the densely forested mountains.

"We are aggressively battling this fire. We are putting extra resources on this fire, and we will continue to mobilize and coordinate all the resources necessary to fight it," said Schwarzenegger.

Gusty winds and rugged terrain frustrated firefighters' efforts throughout the day to get a handle on the fast-moving fire. By Thursday evening, fire officials said the blaze was only 15-percent contained.
 
There was no estimate on when the blaze would be brought under full control as firefighters said it had jumped one of the containment lines on Eureka Canyon Road near Corralitos.

Nightfall grounded aircraft as displaced residents sought places to sleep and eat.

About 1,400 homes were under evacuation orders —400 of them mandatory in the Mount Madonna County Park area, including Buzzard Lagoon, Vaca del Sol and Lower Highlands neighborhoods— as the fire continued to grow despite more than 500 firefighters, seven tanker planes and four helicopters dousing the fire.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said other residents living in the potential path of the fire "need to be prepared to evacuate in a moment's notice."

Residents could call (831) 335-6717 or (831) 335-6718 for more information on evacuations, officials said.

Wind gusts of up to 50 mph that pushed the fire across acres of dry vegetation were expected to subside after midnight, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

"The major factor is just the winds at this point," Anderson said. "It continued to fuel the fire as the winds continued to be breezy today."

Winds decreased to around 15 to 30 mph by late afternoon and were expected to decrease further to 15 to 20 mph after midnight into Friday, according to Anderson.

Heavy brush also complicated efforts to fight the blaze. Officials estimated the fire would grow to 10,000 acres before being contained.

"The fuels are very heavy and dry from a pretty mild winter. With that wind added in as a factor, it's a pretty good recipe for fire," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Marcucci.

The huge blaze burning between the communities of Gilroy and Watsonville was first reported near Summit and Ormsby roads by resident Kenneth Kim, who called 911 after he smelled smoke and saw flames when he went to use an outhouse about 5:30 a.m.

Later in the day, the 66-year old Kim stood on a ridge overlooking Maymens Flat, and peered through binoculars to see how his house was faring against the flames.

Kim initially seemed optimistic. But then the smoke cleared, giving him a better view: Smoke was coming from his home of 20 years.

"Oh, it's gone. It's smoldering," Kim said. "I feel very scared, mad and ... to start all over, I don't know how."

The flames sent a thick cloud of black, orange and gray smoke into the air that could be seen from as far as Richmond in the East Bay.

The fire was traveling southwest toward the Pacific Ocean in the mountain range that separates Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. The location is about 15 miles south of San Jose and the rural area is dotted with homes. 

As many as 12 structures, mostly homes, were destroyed by the flames, and three schools—Mount Madonna School on Summit Road, along with C.T. English Middle School and Loma Prieta Elementary School of the Loma Prieta School District— closed their doors Thursday because of the fire.

All Pajaro Unified School District schools and four County Office of Education community school were to be closed on Friday, officials said.

Santa Clara and Santa Cruz county officials said roughly 1,000 people had been evacuated, including nearly 200 students from a summer camp at the Koinonia Conference Grounds, 1605 Eureka Canyon Road in the Watsonville area.

"I can't see the fire, it's smoke and orange everywhere,'' said Pablo Dillon, guest services manager for the grounds.

Some residents went to an evacuation center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville set up by the Red Cross. At nightfall, it was sheltering more than a dozen people and over 200 horses.

Another evacuation site was at the Los Gatos Neighbor Center, located in the city at 208 Main Street. That locale was not equipped to handle animals.

Some roads in the area were blocked due to the fire, including Summit Road at Mount Madonna Road as well as Pole Line Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Rebecca Henson, 45, was woken up by a neighbor to smoke and ash blanketing her wood cabin in Corralitos. She quickly evacuated with her dog, resigning herself to the possibility that her home burned after they left.

"That thing's gonna go up like a torch it's got wood floors, wood ceilings, everything," Henson said as she gathered with about 75 other evacuees at a central market in another part of town. "There wasn't an official evacuation, but we're mountain folks and we're pretty used to independent living. So it didn't take too much common sense to realize this thing is close, we gotta go."

The blaze also swirled around Maymens Flat, a tiny community of about seven homes that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and the city of Santa Cruz. Ian McClelland, 50, who has lived there since 1987 on his 23-acre ranch, woke up Thursday morning to an orange glow on the hillside, and he immediately let his two horses free so they would have a better chance at surviving.

"There was not an opportunity to do anything," McClelland said. "There was no opportunity to put them in a trailer. So I just let them loose. They had a good chance that way."

When he returned to his property for a few minutes, nothing was left except the concrete foundations. Two of his ten dogs also died in the blaze.

"I don't think it's hit me yet," McClelland said, his voice shaky.
 
Hundreds of firefighters from around Northern California joined in battling the blaze and fire agencies throughout the Bay Area sent strike teams to the scene to provide additional support.

An estimated 1,200 to 1,500 firefighters were expected to be involved in the effort Friday if the conditions persisted, according to Cal Fire.

Gov. Schwarzenegger took time from a roundtable meeting in Union City with presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain and Silicon Valley business leaders to commend the firefighters battling the blaze.

"I want to extend my deepest appreciation to the brave firefighters. As I've said many times before, we have the most courageous, talented and best trained firefighters in the world. They are doing a great job fighting the Summit Fire," he said.

Bill Murdock, Cal Fire co-incident commander for the Summit Fire, who also fought last year's Lick Fire, said, "This is a much more complex fire because of the structures involved and much heavier fuels than the Lick Fire last year.''

State fire officials reported high winds fueled at least two other blazes elsewhere in the region on Thursday.

A Geyserville grassfire was contained after almost four hours, according to Cal Fire.

The fire at state Highway 128 and River Road was first reported at 1:39 p.m. and was reported contained a bit after 5 p.m. 

A total of about 14 acres burned during the fire but no homes were burned and there were no reported injuries.

Meantime, Napa firefighters battled a two-alarm vegetation fire that was possibly sparked around 10 a.m. when a tree was knocked into a power line by harsh winds.

Both sides of state Highways 121 and 29 were briefly closed due to the blaze, which broke out at the south end of the city where the two highways intersect. 

About 15 to 20 acres burned but no houses or structures were damaged and the blaze was contained around noon.

(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)

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