Homes destroyed and residents grab precious belongings as fires grow in Santa Cruz Mountains

BOULDER CREEK, Calif. (KION) The CZU August Lightning Complex Fires in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties have grown to 40,000 acres and are 0% contained as of Thursday afternoon.

The fire that sparked from a lightning storm Sunday morning was just a few thousand acres Tuesday, but challenging terrain, warm weather and gusting wind is causing the fire to grow exponentially.

"I'm in shock," Karen Simonson said.

Simonson's home on Heartwood Hill is gone. She said four other neighbors on her street in Ben Lomond lost their houses to the fire too.

“We’ve got COVID. We’ve got this. It’s hard. it's hard on everybody,” Simonson said.

Some that evacuated earlier this week were able to get back to their homes this morning to grab precious belongings.

“We got everything we wanted and are getting out of here," Boulder Creek resident Devin Smith said. "My father-in-law, who passed away, made furniture and I came back and got a lot of his stuff that you could never get back.”

This afternoon Highway 9 in Ben Lomond was blocked off by police. It left many waiting, like Simonson, who is trying to save the second building on their property.

“My husband's trying to save it, and I’m trying to get supplies up there that he needs,” she said.

KION cameras captured flames inching closer to Highway 236 on Jamison Creek Road. Up the street, firefighters were set up on Boulder Creek Golf Course and battling flames backed up to homes.

Darryl Schwald came back to quickly pick up family pictures and clothes at his home near the golf course.

“I was really happy to see the house still here, because I didn’t know,” Schwald said.

Cal Fire officials said because the area has no significant fire history, and the fuel that's built up over the years is leading to more spread.