Loma Fire: 1 House, 6 Buildings Destroyed, Another Home Damaged [LATEST]

SANTA CRUZ and SANTA CLARA COUNTIES, CA – More than 1,000 firefighters from throughout the state currently are at the scene of the Sawmill Fire, a wildfire now at 2,250 destroyed acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

One residence and six outbuildings were destroyed, along with another home damaged and at least 300 structures are threatened, according to this morning's latest update from Cal Fire.

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze, which broke out Monday afternoon, today total 1,092 and containment is at 10 percent, the agency said.

"Firefighters from throughout California are aggressively fighting the Loma Fire. which continues to spread in the Loma Chiquita Road and Loma Prieta Road area of the Santa Cruz mountains," Cal Fire said. "The fire is burning in steep inaccessible terrain covered in dry drought stressed fuels."

The Loma Fire sparked in the area of Loma Prieta and Loma Chiquita roads about 10 miles northwest of Morgan Hill around 2:50 p.m. Monday, Cal Fire officials said. The area is north of the border between Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, where smoke can be seen for miles.

Mandatory evacuation orders are still in place for for the Loma Prieta ridgeline area including all tributary roads along Summit Road from Soquel San Jose Road to Ormsby Fire Station. This includes Uvas Canyon County Park, Loma Chiquita, Casa Loma, Loma Prieta Way, Highland Road and Mount Bache Road. Portions of Croy Road are under an evacuation warning.

Evacuation center are at:

• Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave, Watsonville (large animals welcome)
• Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos
• Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church, 16970 De Witt Avenue, Morgan Hill

Road closures include:

• Loma Chiquita Road,
• Summit Road from Soquel San Jose Road to Pole Line Road,
• Mount Bache Road at Highland Road,
• Casa Loma Road at McKean/Uvas,
• Mount Madonna at Ormsby Road
• Mount Madonna Road at Pole Line Road,
• Croy Road at Uvas Road is open to residents only

The cause is under investigation.

Also see:

• 2 Injured, Cat Killed, 4 Homes Destroyed In Petaluma Fire Off Hwy 101
• Teen Playing With Matches Catches Marin Co. Home, Trees On Fire
• Cambridge Fire in Novato 100 Percent Contained
• Sawmill Fire: Containment Advances to 75%
• Soberanes Fire: Containment at 81% With 128,300 Acres Consumed
• Lockhart Gulch Road Fire: Fully Contained in Scotts Valley

--Bay City News contributed to this report/Images via Chico Fire-Rescue ‏@ChicoFD part of the Loma Fire strike team