Local News

CORRALITOS (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Calmer, cooler weather helped firefighters get a handle Sunday on a destructive wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains that brought a fierce start to the state's fire season.

Easing winds and lower temperatures helped keep the Summit Fire from spreading after flames charred more than 3,920 acres and destroyed at least 29 homes and 18 other buildings since Thursday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.

The fire made some short runs, but there wasn't significant expansion.

''It's really not moving at all,'' said David Coursey, a department spokesman.

The fire was about 60 percent contained Sunday night and was expected to be fully contained by Tuesday night, fire officials said.

"We are very, very optimistic with the fact that the winds have died down," Cal Fire spokeswoman Becky Bamberger said. "There is still about 4 miles of line to build. We are starting to get some fresh firefighters."

Firefighters faced continuing problems with establishing a line around the fire in the steep terrain. Thick swaths of dead brush and trees are also posing problems.

"What's burning right now is just the interior, which is what we wanted," Bamberger said. "We are kind of letting the center of it go ahead and burn and that is why people are still seeing smoke, but it is not moving outside of the line that has been established."

Fog mixed with smoke blanketed the area Sunday. Winds were blowing southwest and southeast and reached about 10 mph. The humidity was around 60 percent.

Smoke from the wildfire also left a haze over the Bay Area that was expected to linger through the Memorial Day weekend.

The blaze still threatened 550 homes and 20 other buildings and hundreds of residents remained under evacuation following the outbreak of the fire in the mountainous region about 15 miles south of San Jose and 30 miles south of Gilroy.

Nearly 2,900 firefighters worked to cut fire lines through centuries-old redwood forests as a swarm of helicopters and air tankers doused flames from the sky. There were 96 fire crews, 278 engines, two airtankers, 13 helicopters, 35 dozers and 47 water tenders fighting the blaze Sunday.

Among the agencies assisting with the firefight were Cal Fire, the National Guard, California State Parks, Santa Clara County Parks and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

So far, five firefighters have suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties to allow access to state funds. The firefighting effort had cost $6.1 million as of Sunday.

About 2,000 residents were asked or ordered to evacuate their homes since the fire started.

Evacuations remained in effect for the unincorporated Santa Clara County community of Sveadal near Uvas Canyon County Park and residents of McPhee Road. In Santa Cruz County, residents in the area of Eureka Canyon Road and Ormsby Cutoff Road, Lower Highland Road, which includes Buzzard Lagoon, and the Vaca Del Sol area, remain evacuated.

Some evacuees were being let in on an hour-by-hour basis to survey the damage, and plans were being put in place to allow many to return to their homes soon, officials said.

"It's definitely an emotional thing. There are grief counselors. There are all sorts of people for them to talk to if they find that their house has been burned," Bamberger said.

Investigators have traced the blaze to an area where Summit Road becomes Loma Prieta Avenue at the Santa Clara-Santa Cruz counties border. Fire officials told CBS 5 the blaze was ignited by smoldering brush from a legally permitted burn by a resident.

The Summit Fire broke out just as the state's unofficial fire season got under way in mid-May. The blaze erupted following California's driest two-month period on record.


Cal Fire updates on the blaze are available online at: http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current.

(© 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.)