MORGAN HILL, Calif. (AP) – A heat wave stifling drought-stricken California worsened a wildfire Tuesday that burned some buildings and forced people from their homes in remote communities along the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The blaze in a rugged area about 30 miles south of San Jose destroyed two houses and charred more than 3 square miles of dry brush and timber, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Flames lit up the mountainside above a roller coaster at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and a residence was reduced to rubble, though its hot tub still stood. The fire consumed a large home sitting on a hilltop plot and poured out thick, black smoke, while another house sat unscathed below.
The blaze broke out Monday during a statewide heat wave, and crews prepared for another day of witheringly low humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s.
The heat baked even coastal cities that normally benefit from the Pacific Ocean’s cooling effect, but the high temperatures were expected to start easing Tuesday.