DeLaveaga Fire contained, says Santa Cruz Fire
UPDATE: 7/7/2017 10:00 p.m. Santa Cruz Fire, Cal Fire and other agencies contained and extinguished a fire that broke out near the DeLaveaga Park Golf Course Friday afternoon.
We don’t know the cause yet but, Santa Cruz Fire says the dry conditions allow fires like this to spread quickly.
The fire was a frightening scene for those who live nearby.
“We were pretty concerned because you could see the flames and smoke up through the trees,” said Eric Vaughn who lives near the golf course.
It wasn’t only neighbors watching closely, Santa Cruz Shakespeare is just up the road from the fire. They had just started rehearsal when they saw it.
“We saw the plumes of smoke coming up from the canyon,” said artistic director Mike Ryan. “Then pretty soon, we saw the fire helicopters coming by dropping the fire retardant and water.”
Santa Cruz fire says now that winter rains are behind us, conditions are just right for fires like Friday’s, as the extra moisture fueled the growth of taller grass.
“Now they’re drying out and that is a fuel source that’s very receptive to catching on fire,” said Santa Cruz Fire Division Chief Jason Hajduk. “It’s also continuous and so it’ll carry fire from one point to the other rapidly in the right conditions so we’re very concerned about that.”
It certainly wasn’t something Santa Cruz Shakespeare was hoping to see but they are prepared.
“We make sure that we maintain a fire break around the theater and the canyons,” Ryan said, “We clean out brush as a part of our agreement with the city to operate here, so we do our part to make sure fires don’t get started in the first place.”
Still, it’s a big fear for many residents.
“It’s always been a concern living this close to a large set of ecalyptus and dead fir trees,” said Vaughn.
Santa Cruz Fire has a crew out monitoring hot spots and will evaluate the scene Saturday morning.
UPDATE: 7/7/2017 3:57 p.m. Fire crews were able to contain the DeLaveaga Fire at 2-acres.
Both Cal Fire and Santa Cruz fire stopped forward progress of the flames around 3:30 p.m. according to Deputy Chief Jake Hess.
Air resources have been released. The fire erupted in a eucalyptus grove which caused a lot of heavy smoke.
Chief Hess said he’s confident the fire will not spread further.
There are no injuries to report. Cal Fire said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
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Cal Fire and City of Santa Cruz fire crews are battling a wildfire near DeLaveaga Park Golf Course Friday afternoon.
Crews said the fire is about an acre and is spreading into some trees.
Cal Fire has launched an air attack, along with hand crews working on the ground.
The areas of Armory Road, Upper Park Road and Branciforte Drive are closed.
KION has a crew on the way and will update the story as more information becomes available.
Photo Courtesy, Coleen Douglas
Courtesy, Coleen Douglas
