Santa Cruz County Resilience Articles

Monterey County officials say that the fire that erupted at the Moss Landing Power Plant Thursday night was difficult to fight because it was centered on a bank of Tesla batteries.

A huge fire broke out inside a building at the Moss Landing Power Plant Thursday, forcing emergency crews to evacuate areas around Moss Landing and close the heavily traveled Highway 1 in both directions for hours.

The CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar in Santa Cruz County in 2020. (NASA)
SANTA CRUZ >> As wildfires rage in Southern California, Santa Cruz County officials are urging residents to prepare for the possibility of a destructive wildfire here …

By Barbara Satink Wolfson, David Benterou, and Jared Childress

What does it mean when firefighters call a fire "contained?" Here's a brief guide to commonly used fire prevention terminology.

A decision to rebuild the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is not expected for months, after detailed engineering work is done. (Tom Gigliotti)
Key takeaways

The end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is fenced off Dec. 24, a day after large surf tore off an area under repair. (Tom Gigliotti)
SANTA CRUZ >> The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is expected to decide …

About 150 people attended a brief ceremony Saturday morning hosted by Santa Cruz City officials to kick open the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf after it was closed Dec. 23 due to heavy surf damage.

An inspirational creature card with a message of ‘fortitude, endurance, and badassness.’

In a brief special meeting on Dec. 27, three Santa Cruz County Supervisors declared a local emergency, which will allow officials to request state and federal assistance for the damages from the heavy surf, winds and storm surge on Dec. …

The quaint little Santa Cruz we’ve known for decades has been booming in 2024, like no other time since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.It’s been a boom year for construction all over the county. It’s also been a boom for …

In a brief special meeting Friday, three Santa Cruz County Supervisors declared a local emergency, which will allow officials to request state and federal assistance for the damages from the heavy surf, winds and storm surge on Dec. 23 and …

A powerful explosion and fire tore through a two-story apartment building in Capitola Village early Christmas morning. No injuries were reported in the 5:10am incident on the 100 block of Lawn Way.

A group of city workers and volunteers spent the afternoon cleaning massive amounts of trash from a wooded hillside in Watsonville one sunny day in early December, hauling away several full dumpsters.

In 2023, the California legislature approved Assembly Bill 102—the Budget Act of 2023—which among other things allocated $20 million to Monterey County to help Pajaro recover from the flooding that occurred after the levee breached and caused widespread flooding.

Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf will remain closed indefinitely after waves on Monday sheared off a 125-foot section that was already closed and under construction from storm damage in 2023.

Heavy surf on Monday smashed into the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, shearing off a 125-foot section off the end and sending an already-closed business into the ocean, along with a public restroom and two pieces of heavy construction equipment.

There are two sides to a levee, but a conservationist and a farmer have found common ground at the swampy mouth of the Pajaro River.

Smoke and burned trees are pictured near Sylvan Lake State Park during a wildfire that erupted south of Eagle in the White River National Forest on June 20, 2021. With intense wildfires becoming a greater threat in the West, homeowners …

A non-native invasive shothole borer beetle found along Zayante Creek south of Graham Hill Road in October has been identified as Euwallacea interjectus, a beetle originating from Southeast Asia.