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Santa Cruz County Resilience Digest



Prescribed Burns Scheduled for Wilder Ranch State Park

11/12/2024

Get the details about the California State Parks prescribed burns at Wilder Ranch State Park over the next two weeks and resulting temporary trail closures.

Proposition 4 $10 Billion Climate Bond Passes

11/05/2024

Learn more about how the just-passed $10 billion climate bond measure will fund resiliency projects across the state.

A Century Later, Salmon Again Spawning in Klamath River After Dams Removed

10/31/2024

Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.

A Third Straight Year With No California Salmon Fishing?  Early Fish Counts Suggest It Could Happen

10/30/2024

Low counts of spawning salmon could mean another year without fishing. Experts say the outlook still has time to turn around.

Restoration Project Prompts Closure of San Lorenzo Park Benchlands

10/17/2024

A project to restore native plant species and sensitive habitat has led the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation department to close the San Lorenzo Park Benchlands to public access.

Environmental Rebate Explained

10/08/2024

How to apply rebate as part of the recent $80 million state program to electrify homes.

Temporary Road Built Over Mountain Charlie Landslide

10/06/2024

Santa Cruz mountains residents are able to more easily come and go thanks to a temporary road built over the slow moving Mountain Charlie Road landslide.

Groundbreaking Celebrated for Pajaro River Levee Repair Work

10/02/2024

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 2 to celebrate the beginning of work to repair a 10-mile stretch of levee on the Pajaro River.

Santa Cruz County Election: Measure Q: Water and Wildfire Protection Tax

09/26/2024

A look at Measure Q, the Water and Wildfire Protection Tax on the November ballot and comments from those in favor of the measure and some surprising opposition.

Insurance Commissioner (Virtually) Meets With Bonny Doon Homeowners

09/25/2024

A summary of a September 25 online meeting with California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Bonny Doon homeowners impacted by the insurance crisis.

Applications Open for Free Wood Chipping

09/24/2024

Applications are open through October 31 to Santa Cruz County residents for reimbursement of wood chipping costs under the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County's Neighborhood Chipping Program.

Why Ricardo Lara Says His Plan to Fix California’s Insurance Crisis Will Work

09/19/2024

At a CalMatters event, California’s insurance commissioner says the changes he’s making will help homeowners and business owners. One idea: A state grant for those who spend money to protect their property from wildfires.

Which Growing California Communities Will Get the Hottest?

09/13/2024

California’s inland regions are experiencing dangerous heat waves, exacerbated by rapid population growth. As more people move away from the expensive coastal areas to more affordable inland communities, these regions are seeing significant demographic changes and spiking electricity bills.

More Extreme Heat + More People = Danger in These California Cities. ‘Will It Get as Hot as Death Valley?’

09/04/2024

Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.

CalFire Deploys New Air Tanker

09/02/2024

CalFire received the first of five planes promised by the federal government, a former Coast Guard C-130 Hercules air tanker.

California Emergency Alerts Warn You About Fires and Extreme Weather. How to Sign Up in Your County

08/29/2024

Early warning systems save lives during disasters, but a recent FEMA survey found that only a third of people are signed up. Use this resource to find your county’s emergency alert sign-up page.

Measure Q Gains Labor Support

08/29/2024

On August 29, backers of Santa Cruz Measure Measure Q to fund wildfire and climate resiliency and infrastructure announced the support of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council.

COVID Surging, Health Officials Recommend Updated Vaccine

08/26/2024

As COVID cases surge, health officials are recommending people take advantage of a recently approved and updated vaccine when it becomes available.

State Funding Santa Cruz County Wildfire Prevention Work

08/20/2024

The state of California is funding wildfire prevention and mitigation work in Santa Cruz County, including the clearance of fuel along Soquel San Jose Road and a wood chipping program.

FEMA Funding Shortfall Effects Felt in Santa Cruz County

08/13/2024

Several projects underway in Santa Cruz County to repair local roads impacted by storms in 2023 are affected by FEMA funding shortfalls.

LAFCO Considers Santa Cruz County Fire Protection District Changes

08/12/2024

In an August 7 vote, the Santa Cruz Local Agency Formation Commission approved the study of a a new consolidated fire protection district covering County Service Area 48 in the unincorporated county.

RTC Receives State Funding For Rail Trail Study

08/08/2024

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission received grant funding for resiliency planning focused on four areas vulnerable to climate impacts.

California Battles Onslaught of Wildfires With Help From Mutual Aid: ‘More Resources Than Rest of US Combined’

08/06/2024

So many intense wildfires all at once require an intricate chess game for maneuvering firefighters and equipment around the U.S.

All the Ways People Start CA Wildfires

07/31/2024

Whether they mean to or not, people are responsible for about 95% of the state’s wildfires. While arson accounts for about 10% of the fires, others can start in a myriad of ways.

UC Santa Cruz Receives Over $2 Million Climate Resiliency Grant

07/31/2024

The University of California Santa Cruz is the recipient of over $2 million in federal grant funding to help increase California coastal resiliency to climate change.

Santa Cruz Receives Resiliency Grant

07/26/2024

On July 26, the City of Santa Cruz announced it had received an almost $8 million grant as part of a larger $71.1 million grant awarded to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Newsom Set an Ambitious Goal to Launch 500,000 Californians Into New Careers. Many Are Firefighters

07/25/2024

In his 2018 campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would create 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. So far, the state has registered more than 180,000 new apprenticeships. Many of them are firefighters.

Scotts Valley Fire Station Bond Measure Approved for November Ballot

07/24/2024

The Scotts Valley Fire Protection District board of directors approved a $24.5 million bond measure to go before voters in the November election, to replace Fire Station 1 on Erba Lane.

Local Impacts of Crowdstrike Outage Reported

07/19/2024

Government systems in Santa Cruz County and at Dominican Hospital were affected by the Crowdstrike outage.

Fentanyl in Santa Cruz Series

07/13/2024

A multi-part series examining the impact of fentanyl and opioids in Santa Cruz County.

Santa Cruz County Climate Action Plan Meeting Scheduled

07/12/2024

The Santa Cruz County Climate Action Plan will be the focus of a public meeting scheduled for July 31.

Hundreds of Deaths, Thousands of Injuries, Billions of Dollars: The Cost of Extreme Heat in California

07/07/2024

Heat waves have killed hundreds of Californians and cost billions of dollars in the past decade, according to a new report from the state insurance department.

Featured

A smoky blanket of particulate matter hovers over San Francisco’s skyline.
Getting Acquainted With AQI
Learn what's getting into Californians’ lungs and why it matters.
A Pyrocumulus cloud generated by the Dixie Fire in July, 2021.
What is Fire 'Containment?' That and Other Terms, Explained
What does it mean when firefighters call a fire "contained?" Here's a brief guide to commonly used fire prevention terminology.
How Not to Feel the Burn
These groups help residents preserve their property, health and life.
Supercell storms are just one of many weather phenomena in the era of climate change.
The New Vocabulary of the Climate Change Era
As climate change causes more extreme and unusual weather, we need a new set of terms to describe the various phenomena
Though it’s the most famous, the San Andreas Fault is just one of more than 500 active faults in California.
Battening Down for the Big One
Making it through the earthquake is easy—the hard part comes later.
Feeling blocked? These mental health organizations can help.
Finding Piece of Mind
Find help from these websites, telephone hotlines and organizations
From the coast to the mountains, Santa Cruz County’s landscape has given way to human development. But residents can make all parts of the region more hospitable to native species.
Backyard Ecology
No matter where you live, you can help native flora and fauna.
Many of Robert Kerbeck’s neighbors in Malibu Park lost their homes in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which left behind lots where only chimneys still stood.
Give Your Home a Fighting Chance in a Wildfire
Wildfires are larger, more frequent, and more ferocious—so be prepared.
Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners
The state tries persuading insurance companies to cover homes in fire zones.
With CERT training, volunteers can learn firefighting skills.
Emergency Teamwork
With CERT training, ordinary civilians can play critical roles in protecting their communities.
Members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service hone their skills at various local events.
Listening Skills
With the CZU fires in mind, volunteers in the Santa Cruz Mountains are taking emergency communications into their own hands.
Workers clean up after flooding in Capitola Village.
Disaster Prep: Alerts, Maps and Apps
Keep these online resources handy in case of floods, fires, quakes and other disasters
View of the flooded San Lorenzo River Park Benchlands in Santa Cruz, California on New Year's Eve 2022.
Communicating During Disaster and Crisis
Recent lessons learned over days of local disaster.
Just because record rains have been falling, the state’s water crisis remains.
What Is Drought? Probably Not What You Think
Recent torrential rains have helped, but California's drought is a long way from over.
Kerry Wood, CEO of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, says the organization researches areas of need to help donors direct their contributions.
What Is a Community Foundation?
By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.
The Pajaro River levee broke during the 2023 atmospheric river storms, flooding the town of Pajaro.
Is California Ready for More Extreme Weather Driven by Climate Change?
Increasingly extreme weather events are already testing California’s preparedness.
Working together with many volunteers, this crew feeds 65,000 people in Santa Cruz County every month.
California’s Oldest Food Bank Pays It Forward
California’s first food bank has helped residents of Santa Cruz County for more than 50 years.
Join Us Today!