Huge fire threatens homes in Bonny Doon, north west of Santa Cruz

A huge wildfire near the town of Bonny Doon, in the Santa Cruz Mountains 70 miles south of San Francisco, threatened homes Wednesday night and into Thursday morning (August 13) as authorities struggled to bring the blaze under control.

Local media reported that over 250 homes had been evacuated as the fire spread. Along with reverse 911 calls, police were going house to house to make sure residents had left the area.

Over 300 firefighters were tackling the blaze, with more crews en route from Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterrey County and Santa Barbara. One report claimed that the flames from the blaze could be seen from mountains north of San Francisco

As of 12:30am Thursday, the fire was heading towards the coastal town of Davenport, and authorities were considering further evacuations.

UPDATE (Thursday 4pm): see Santa Cruz fire continues to threaten homes