Firefighters contain backyard shed fire in Pleasure Point

PLEASURE POINT- Firefighters from the Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County responded to a structure fire on 37th Avenue off Portola Drive in Pleasure Point Sunday. There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire was not immediately apparent.

At around 11:45 a.m. Sunday, Central Fire crews were dispatched to a confirmed structure fire. The firefighters were told the fire was near the Coffeetopia on Portola Drive in Pleasure Point. Once they reached the area, they found heavy smoke and flames coming from a residential address, said Central Fire Battalion Chief Derek Staley, who responded to the fire.

Staley said Sunday that the fire started in a backyard shed and began to spread to the siding and roof of an adjacent house. At one point during the response, Staley said he was concerned that another structure was on fire and called a second alarm. Help from the Scotts Valley Fire Protection District and the Santa Cruz Fire Department began to head to Pleasure Point. Staley then learned that a second structure had not caught fire and canceled the extra resources before they arrived.

The remainder of the response was carried out by Central Fire, which sent four fire engines, a ladder truck, a rescue unit and two battalion chiefs, Staley said. Crews were able to pull lines and extinguish the fire. There were no injuries, Staley said. A dog escaped at some point during the fire, but was safely reunited with its owner, the battalion chief added.

According to Staley, the shed where the fire originated burned down completely, and much of the backyard was burned. The siding and roof of the house next door was slightly damaged, but the fire didn't get inside, Staley said.

"Due to the quick actions of the firefighters, that exposure was knocked down quickly, and then they knocked down the rest of the fire," Staley said.

Other agencies including California Highway Patrol, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office and the Capitola Police Department responded to the emergency, taping off 37th Avenue. A Central Fire engine also blocked off one lane of Portola Drive while firefighters were on scene extinguishing and then investigating the fire.

The fire gave off a large amount of smoke, which could be seen at least as far away as Capitola Beach. Fire engines and police cars could be seen, lights and sirens on, driving from Capitola down Cliff Drive toward Pleasure Point minutes after smoke began to rise up.

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 5:06 PM.