22 Santa Cruz-San Mateo Area Fires Sparked By Lightning

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit said it responded to at least 22 fires sparked within a 14-hour period, all of which were presumably sparked by lightning.

The fires began after a rare lightning storm with heavy winds and rain crossed into Santa Cruz County from the south at 1 a.m. Sunday, Cal Fire said in a news release.

About 2,500 lightning strikes were reported in the Bay Area and Central Coast over the weekend. Hurricane-force wind gusts of 74 mph were reported in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a Monday news conference.

Firefighters were not able to battle all of the fires due to strained resources, Cal Fire said Monday morning. The agency later reported that it had stopped several of the fires from advancing, though firefighters are still trying to access some.

No communities were threatened and no evacuation orders or warnings have been issued.

Here's the latest Santa Cruz County fire statistics:

• Warnella Fire (Davenport): 120 acres and 5% contained, as of 4 p.m. Monday
• CZU August Lightning Complex (a series of fires near the Santa Cruz County-San Mateo County line): 1,000 acres and 0% contained, as of 10:30 p.m. Monday

More local heatwave coverage from Patch:

• Santa Cruz County Heat Advisory Extended
• Santa Cruz County Residents Wake To Power Outages
• 2,500 Lightning Strikes, More To Come In Bay Area: SEE