Loma Fire: Progress made but blaze still spreading

A fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains grew by more than 1,500 acres between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, and continued to threaten hundreds of structures, officials said Thursday.

The Loma Fire ignited Monday in rugged terrain near Loma Prieta Avenue and Loma Chiquita Road west of Morgan Hill and has burned at least 4,147 acres, according to the latest report from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire was 34 percent contained, up from 10 percent Wednesday, fire officials said.

Some roads in the area remained closed, but mandatory evacuation orders were lifted.

While the fire continued to spread, falling temperatures and low wind speeds on Thursday helped firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze. One firefighter was taken to the hospital after sustaining unknown injuries while battling the fire Thursday afternoon, Cal Fire officials said.

The cooling trend is forecast to continue through the rest of the week, with a cold front bringing a slight chance of rain by Sunday.

The fire has leveled eight homes, damaged another and destroyed nine other buildings, officials said. Cal Fire said 325 structures remained threatened by the fire Thursday.

More than 1,700 firefighters, along with six air tankers and 15 helicopters, were deployed to fight the inferno. Fire officials expect to have it completely contained by Monday, Cal Fire spokesman Sean Cassatt said.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.