SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, Calif. -- What caused the 485 acre Loma wildfire that at one point threatened dozens of homes?

Even as firefighters worked to bring that fire under control on Wednesday, residents wondered if the fire began when fire-prevention efforts backfired.

The wind continued to blow hard through the Santa Cruz Mountains, whipping up hot spots burning deep in the Eureka Canyon area.

About a thousand firefighters are still committed to the Loma Fire, which as of Tuesday evening was 100 per cent contained, but still unpredictable.

"We are being very cautious and keeping a close eye," said Calfire Division Chief David Shew. "We're mopping up deeper inside the fire than maybe we would normally simply because of these winds. We want to prevent any kind of burning embers from blowing across those lines, so that work is ongoing."

The wind also slowed down investigators trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Some residents said they believe the Loma Fire started from a Calfire controlled burn which was aimed at reducing dry vegetation.

If so, it would be the latest major fire started by a controlled burn. Other such blazes include a Yosemite this past summer and the devastating Summit Fire which burned much of the same area of the Santa Cruz mountains last year.

One homeowner said she thought of the Summit fire when she saw piles of smoldering vegetation near her property last Friday, about a day before the Loma Fire started.

"My heart just sank," said Holly Waddle. "And I thought 'Oh my God, they're burning.' But is it going to be like the Summit Fire? Something smoldering and catching everything on fire again?"

Shew said that hasn't been determined yet. "It is certainly something we are going to review and look to see if we can make improvements in the way we do these kinds of projects in the future."

Many firefighters were staying in the mountains overnight, not only to watch over the Loma fire, but to stay together as 'teams' in case they need to be deployed to Southern California where winds have created a similar potential threat there.