The Associated Press
CORRALITOS, Calif. — All residents forced to evacuated their homes when a wildfire ravaged more than 4,200 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains were allowed to return to their properties Tuesday as the blaze neared full containment.
Firefighters taking advantage of coastal fog and cool temperatures had the fire 85 percent contained by Tuesday morning, six days since the flames broke out.
Favorable conditions on Monday allowed officials to send some firefighters home and allowed some of the hundreds of evacuees to return to their properties.
The hardest-hit neighborhoods remained closed until Tuesday afternoon, when all residents with proper identification were being allowed back to survey the damage.
The blaze has destroyed at least three dozen homes in the rural area between Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, about 15 miles south of San Jose.
About 2,600 firefighters remained at the scene, down from more than 3,000 at the height of the blaze, which has cost the state $11.2 million to fight. Seven firefighters have suffered minor injuries, officials said.
Investigators are still probing the cause of the fire, which broke out just as the state’s unofficial fire season got under way in mid-May. The blaze erupted following the state’s driest two-month period on record.