Crime & Safety
Crews Battle Estrada Fire In Santa Cruz County
The wildfire sparked northwest of Watsonville when a prescribed burn jumped its containment lines.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The Estrada Fire, which sparked in south Santa Cruz County when a prescribed burn jumped its containment lines Friday, is now 25 percent contained and has burned 83 acres, Cal Fire said Saturday afternoon.
The fire began on Hazel Dell Road and Hidden Canyon northwest of Watsonville, according to officials. As of noon Saturday, evacuation orders had been reduced to evacuation warnings in the Pajaro area: PAJ-E001, PAJ-E002, PAJ-E003, and PAJ-E007. The evacuation warning was lifted in Zone CRZ-E046, Cal Fire said.
Crews are "making good progress" in containing the fire, according to Cal Fire. The agency is asking the public to avoid the fire area and the roads leading to the fire area to allow for residents to travel home and for firefighters to continue to work on the fire.
Find out what's happening in Watsonvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The fire is now estimated to have burned 83 acres, according to Cal Fire, down from earlier estimates as high as 150 acres.
"Conditions calmed down significantly overnight," Angela Bernheisel, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said in an interview earlier Saturday.
Find out what's happening in Watsonvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A Cal Fire prescribed burn in the area Friday afternoon jumped its containment lines near Corralitos Friday, Bernheisel confirmed.
In response, firefighting crews from Cal Fire and Santa Cruz County local fire departments attacked the Estrada Fire and surrounded the fire with retardant Friday night, according to Bernheisel.
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