Wildfire closes both sides of Highway 9
A wildfire burning in the mountains of Santa Cruz County was expected to keep miles of Highway 9 closed at least through Sunday as firefighters continued to battle the blaze.
Dubbed the Rincon Fire, the blaze broke out about 10 p.m. Saturday. It was burning between the highway and the San Lorenzo River, north of the community of Paradise Park, and had charred about 25 acres of steep, tree-lined terrain and vegetation.
The fire was about 30 percent contained by midafternoon Sunday, said Scott McLean, Cal Fire’s deputy chief.
Smoke drifted and poor air quality was reported in areas north of the blaze, such as Ben Lomond and Felton.
“There will continue to be smoke and ash in the air today as the heavy fuel in the interior burns off,” the Cal Fire San Mateo/Santa Cruz Unit wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Five fire engines, four hand crews and a helicopter were assigned to fight the fire Sunday, but McLean said that could change if more resources are needed along containment lines.
“They still have quite a bit of work to do,” he said.
Both directions of Highway 9 had been closed since late Saturday between Paradise Park and Glengarry Road, a stretch of nearly twoand-a-half miles, the California Highway Patrol said Sunday. The closure was expected to last at least through Sunday and possibly longer as crews continued to fight the fire.
An evacuation advisory was ordered for the north end of Paradise Park very early Sunday, but Cal Fire said there was no loss of property as of early Sunday. Trees were burning in the Rincon Fire, not just brush and grass, which McLean said was an indicator that the dry, high fire risk season was in full swing in California even with cooler weather. “Doesn’t matter how cool it gets, the humidity is still low, whatever moisture we’ve had in the past this year has not made a difference whatsoever,” he said. “So folks need to be cognizant of their surroundings and the situations around them.” NBC Bay Area reported that a firefighter was injured in the fire and taken to a hospital.