High winds blowing in from the west have carried smoke in from
the Santa Cruz wildfire and prompted some residents to express
concern of a blaze near Hollister, but there isn’t one, authorities
have confirmed.
High winds blowing in from the northwest have carried smoke in from the Santa Cruz wildfire and prompted some residents to express concern of a blaze near Hollister, but there isn’t one, authorities have confirmed.
San Benito County Sheriff’s Lt. Roy Iler said the county communications office had received about 25 calls about the smoke from the fire as of around 2:15 p.m. today.
Authorities with local fire and law enforcement agencies have been receiving calls today with some citizens asking whether there is a fire nearby and others reporting possible fires, as is indicated on the California Highway Patrol’s online dispatch reports.
A sheriff’s office representative earlier this afternoon confirmed that authorities had been receiving many calls, but that no confirmed blazes have been reported in San Benito County.
The Hollister fire department’s phone has been “ringing off the hook,” according to clerical assistant Christine Black, adding that the calls started coming in about the smoke and ash about 12:30 p.m.
Black also confirmed that the Santa Cruz fire is the cause of the haze and smell.
The San Benito County Fire Department also has been receiving calls about the smoke and ash. The office has been getting calls over “probably the last four or five hours, once the winds shifted,” said Josh Silveira, fire engineer with the county fire department.
“Everyone wants to know if they need to evacuate. People haven’t seen it since last year,” he said. “Even we’re amazed at the station at the amount of smoke blowing down this way.”*The Santa Cruz wildfire that has caused the stinky, hazy conditions in Hollister started Wednesday and has burned more than 4,200 acres, according to Monterey Bay air pollution district.
