Estrada Fire in California down to 83 acres, 25 percent contained

The Estrada fire, burning between Watsonville and Morgan Hill above Hazel Del Road near Santa Clara County, was "part of the" Estrada Ranch Prescribed Burn, according to Cecile Juliette, a spokesperson for the San Mateo and Santa Cruz Unit (CZU) of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

Prescribed burns are "intended to reduce fuel accumulations and restore and enhance grassland", Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Officials said there will be a full investigation to determine what went wrong.

Four zones in Santa Cruz County are still under an evacuation order because of the blaze.

California has been ravaged by multiple massive wildfires this year, including the Dixie Fire, the largest currently burning in the country, which has already consumed over 963,000 acres in the past three months with 94 per cent containment.

Statewide, wildfires have burned over 2,487,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 3,600 structures so far this year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.