SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people near the surfing town of Santa Cruz, emptying wineries and rustic homes on Friday.
Billowing white smoke, punctuated by orange flames, covered rolling hills in television footage of the coastal mountain fire about 80 miles (130 km) south of San Francisco.
"We are smelling it. There is a distinctive singed note to the area around the winery," Bonny Doon Winery executive Burke Owens said by telephone.
His winery, about eight miles (13 km) from the fire, which takes its name from the evacuated mountain town of Bonny Doon, a relatively undeveloped area of small canyons and steep hills.
Some 4,100 acres (1,660 hectares) have burnt and hundreds of firefighters have contained about 5 percent of the blaze, according to state firefighting agency Cal Fire, which expects hotter, drier weather on Saturday.
While wildfires in California are more likely to occur during warm, dry weather, drought and a sprawling population make wildfires a year-round concern in the Golden State.
(Reporting by Peter Henderson)
