Wildfire Update: Blaze In Santa Cruz Mountains Grows

(AP) - Officials say a wildfire threatening hundreds of structures in a remote area of California's Santa Cruz Mountains continues to grow.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jeremy Rahn said Thursday that the Loma Fire has scorched 3,849 acres of trees and dry brush in steep terrain south of San Jose.  

At least 325 structures are in the path of the fire, which is 22 percent contained.

Mandatory evacuations were lifted Wednesday for Santa Cruz County, but evacuation orders remain in effect for neighboring Santa Clara County, where most of the threatened structures are located.

To the north in Sonoma County, investigators say a grass fire that destroyed four homes in Petaluma may have been started by a discarded cigarette.

Meanwhile, the Marshes Fire in Tuolumne County is still at 1,000 acres and is 45 percent contained. 

The Sawmill Fire, which has scorched 1,547 acres, is almost fully contained at 95 percent.

The Tobin Fire in Plumas County is at 35 percent contained and 248 acres.