Fire Crews Keep Watch Over Contained Fire Near UC Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ (KPIX 5) -- A fire that erupted Wednesday morning near the UC Santa Cruz campus was still smoldering nearly 12 hours later, according to authorities.
Thankfully, firefighters were able to gain the upper hand on the fire near Golf Club Drive pretty quickly,
but it still made for some scary moments for students.
The fire burned in a wooded area and left a smoky haze clinging to the campus for much of the morning.
One of the reasons firefighters were able to respond so quickly was they were already in the area, mopping up the stubborn remnants of the nearby Rincon fire that shut down Highway 9 for several days.
That quick response kept the new fire contained to an area less than four acres.
But for some students, it was still too close for comfort.
"In the beginning, I was really worried. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, it's really close. I can see it really visibly. And my eyes are burning,'" said UC Santa Cruz student Shantal Bautista. "But later, I felt like they had it handled. And the university kept sending out emails."
Firefighters still at the scene Wednesday evening were just keeping an eye on hot spots at this point.
However, they will stay at the location overnight to make sure the fire doesn't flare back up.