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

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. - Firefighters responded to a 2-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.

"We engaged on the fire and engaged on structure defense on Trebing Road, and were able to contain the fire at two acres," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Sean Murray

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.

As of 2:15, firefighters had stopped forward progress, though crews were still fighting small spot fires in the area.

The Buena Fire damaged a garage and two other buildings in the area. One firefighter was also injured, 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."

Crews will remain on scene through the evening to make sure smoldering patches don’t reignite.

This is developing, check back for updates