Lanes reopen on Highway 1 after Buena Fire in Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. - Firefighters responded to a 3-acre fire in Santa Cruz County, just north of Watsonville, on Monday. 

The fire, which started as three brush fires, was burning near Highway 1 at Buena Vista Drive and Mar Monte Avenue.

Residents in the Buena Vista neighborhood were placed under a fire warning, as first responders from Santa Cruz County, Watsonville, and Capitola worked to tap out the flames.

Evacuations were lifted just before 7 p.m. 

"We engaged on the fire and engaged on structure defense on Trebing Road, and were able to contain the fire," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Sean Murray. At the time, the fire was only estimated to be two acres. 

Multiple agencies responded to this fire. 

The fire shut down northbound Highway 1 at Buena Vista Drive. The CHP diverted traffic to Airport Boulevard. 

By 3:30 p.m., two lanes on Highway 1 had reopened.

At around 2:15 p.m., firefighters stopped forward progress of the fire and focused on smaller spot fires in the area. Firefighters are expected to patrol the area overnight. 

The Buena Fire damaged a garage and two other buildings in the area. One firefighter had a minor injury, KTVU learned.

Fire officials say the cause of the fire is under investigation. 

"Luckily [weather] conditions have changed. It’s not as hot and dry as it was last week. So that definitely was in our favor," Murray said. "We have some fire history in this area. In 2009, we had the Trebing Fire which was under much different conditions. And we lost multiple structures to that fire in 2009."