"Right now in Santa Cruz County this is one of the largest fires. But, because of access and fuel moistures where they are this year, it could have been a larger fire," said CalFire Battalion Chief Michael Borelli.
CalFire, with the help of several other local agencies, moved fast. At first crews attacked the fire by air, dropping water and retardant, which bought firefighters time so they could get their ground strategy in place.
At the same time those who live nearby got their homes in order. The Becker's, who live just one mile from the fire, were ready to evacuate, "We could see flames, so we started thinking about what was important and what wasn't and started packing up our vans," said Virginia Becker.
Her husband, Albert, added, "We unhooked the computers of course, decided to look for photographs that were hard copies, and put the cats away so we could get them if needed to. Took some clothes down to the van and started putting stuff into a suitcase."
No official evacuation order ever came down, but the Becker's didn't want to take any chances. Just as they were about to leave, firefighters managed to contain and control the blaze around 12:30 p.m.
