UPDATE: All lanes open on Highway 17 after wildfire sparked Monday afternoon
UPDATE 6/28/16 2:53PM: California Highway Patrol said all lanes are open on Highway 17, both northbound and southbound, after a wildfire caused road closures beginning Monday afternoon.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
UPDATE 6/28/16 12:34PM: One southbound lane on Highway 17 is still closed while CalTrans crews work to prevent any trees from falling on the road, according to San Jose CHP.
Officers said the left lane is open to traffic and the right lane is expected to re-open this afternoon.
Cal Fire crews are still on scene, making sure the fire doesn’t re-ignite during peak hours of high temperatures in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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UPDATE 6/28/16 5:00 A.M.: All northbound lanes on Highway 17 reopened for commuters Tuesday morning, according to CHP.
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UPDATE 6/27/16 10:15 P.M.: The southbound lane has been reopened to one-way controlled traffic at Bear Creek Road.
UPDATE 6/27/16 7:20 P.M.: Redwood Estates residents can return home as crews have stopped a brush fire from spreading near Highway 17 and Summit Road.
“Forward progress of the fire has been stopped. We have a number of resources that are re-positioning to basically do containment and mop up,” said Jim Crawford with the Santa Clara Cal-Fire Unit.
Evacuation orders have been lifted. Cal Fire crews are now mopping up and looking for hot spots.
“The big concern is there’s a lot of large timber on the land and with drought stricken trees right next to the highway (and) having one of them come down could be quite dangerous,” said Crawford.
One fire fighter was injured but is expected to be okay.
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UPDATE 6/27/16 5:10PM: CalTrans reports northbound Highway 17 is open at the Summit and all southbound lanes remain closed at Bear Creek Rd. into Santa Cruz.
UPDATE 6/27/16 5:04PM: Residents living in the Redwood Estates area are being asked to evacuate because of a wildfire, according to Cal Trans.
CHP reports Highway 17 may re-open within two hours.
CalTrans said northbound lanes are closed one mile north of the Santa Cruz/Santa Clara County line at Summit Rd. and is closed in both directions from Summit Rd. to 2.5 miles north of the county line at Idylwild Dr.
UPDATE 6/27/16 4:15PM: Highway 17 is closed in both directions due to a fire near Summit Road and Bear Creek Road in Santa Clara County, according CalTrans.
Crews say the fire started after a car caught on fire and started a brush fire. Santa Cruz County dispatchers say the fire is about four acres near Redwood Estates and California Highway Patrol is evaluating whether residents are safe to be in the area.
CalTrans District 5 said drivers are being asked to use Highway 1, 129 or 152 as a detour in or out of Santa Cruz.
CHP said its concerned about trees coming down on the highway and some drivers are abandoning their cars.
PREVIOUS STORY: Northbound lanes on Highway 17 are closed Monday afternoon due to a fire, according to California Highway Patrol.
Traffic is backed up at the Summit. Cal Fire Santa Clara is handling the incident.
A Sig Alert has been issued at Summit due to a large amount of smoke.
KION has a crew on the way and this story will be updated as soon as more information is available.