Weather helps firefighters get control of wildfire

A wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains is causing mandatory evacuations for neighboring homes.

Days of moist, cool weather helped firefighters get a handle on a destructive wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains that scorched 3,900 acres and at least 29 homes.

Easing winds and lower temperatures helped keep the blaze from spreading and fire crews had the blaze mostly contained early Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.

"It's really not moving at all," said David Coursey, a department spokesman.

The 6-square-mile fire was expected to be fully surrounded by Tuesday, fire officials said. The blaze still threatened 550 homes and 20 commercial buildings.

While some evacuees were let in on an hour-by-hour basis to survey the damage, hundreds of residents were told to stay away following the outbreak of the fire in the mountainous region about 15 miles south of San Jose.

Five firefighters have suffered minor injuries.

In a community meeting at a church Sunday afternoon, residents eager to sleep in their own beds were given bad news. Officials said a quick turn in weather could re-ignite the blaze, and that they would have to wait until Tuesday to return home.

Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 personnel worked to cut fire lines through centuries-old redwood forests as a swarm of helicopters and air tankers doused flames from the sky.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties to allow access to state funds. The firefighting effort has cost $6.1 million so far, Coursey said.

Smoke from the wildfire has left a haze over the San Francisco Bay area that was expected to linger through the Memorial Day weekend.

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.