Quick Take:
A fire ignited in Aromas around 2 a.m. Tuesday on Quarry Road near the Pajaro River and the border of Santa Cruz County and San Benito counties. Just after 10 a.m., a local battalion chief said the blaze was 25% contained and was optimistic it would be fully safe within 24 hours.
A fire ignited in Aromas overnight Tuesday on Quarry Road near the Pajaro River and the border of Santa Cruz County and San Benito County. The fire sparked around 2 a.m. on a lot on private property a quarter-mile from the Graniterock quarry in Aromas. Cal Fire said on Twitter that the blaze was a debris and vegetation fire.
Battalion chief David Rowe of the Aromas Tri-County Fire Protection District said on site around 10 a.m. that the fire was about 25% contained. “But I have confidence we can render it safe within 24 hours,” he said.
The site is a roughly 6-acre lot that is strewn with cut eucalyptus logs and other timber. Rowe described the site as a “log deck,” similar to what is found at a mill or logging operation — and said the fire could burn for days. Among the firefighters who responded to the Aromas fire were personnel from Marina, Monterey, Hollister, Salinas and other nearby jurisdictions.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office evacuated homes on Marshall Lane and Rose Avenue but those evacuation orders had been lifted by 10 a.m. “The fire is contained to the initial parcel and it is surrounded by fire crews,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “Our staff has been released.”
Nearby Aromas School canceled classes for Tuesday.
A firefighting helicopter knocks down an early morning fire Tuesday in Aromas. Credit: Via Tina Baine 
Aromas residents watch Cal Fire in action around Tuesday’s blaze. Credit: Via Tina Baine 
Tuesday’s blaze sparked in what one firefighter called a “log deck,” similar to what is found at a mill or logging operation. Credit: Via Tina Baine 
Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to Tuesday morning’s fire in Aromas. Credit: Via Tina Baine 
Tuesday’s fire in Aromas was 25% contained as of 10 a.m., about eight hours after it ignited. Credit: Via Tina Baine
Pacific Gas & Electric said 1,122 homes lost power starting at 3:45 a.m. after a woodpile that caught fire brought down wires and damaged a few utility poles. The agency said it would need to replace two poles entirely. It expected to restore power around 3 p.m., but said that could be delayed as crews worked to repair the damage to PG&E equipment.
— Max Chun contributed to this report.
Watch: Fire in Aromas
