Santa Cruz County Public Safety Articles

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District released its draft 2025 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) for public review. The draft plan will be presented at the district's February 6 SLVWD Board of Directors meeting.

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday joined several other local elected officials and residents demanding answers into the causes of the Jan. 16 fire at the Vistra battery storage facility in Moss Landing.

In the year 2025, cities and towns across the country will be planning and executing some fairly audacious infrastructure projects. The State of New York plans to expand the Hudson Tunnel along the northeast corridor; Interstate 5 along the West …

Caltrans will begin vegetation control work on the entire length of Highway 9 in Santa Cruz County in support of California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan to manage vegetation and reduce wildfire risk along the state highway system.

One day after a group of Santa Cruz County residents collected soil samples from the areas impacted by the Jan. 16 battery storage facility fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant to test for heavy metals, a San Jose State …

The Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) held a public hearing Jan. 16 at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas to address a new draft regulation for Telone, a pesticide also known by the chemical name 1,3-dichloropropene.

A new battery storage facility slated for a lot on the outskirts of Watsonville has some residents on edge after a Jan. 16 fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant, which sent a thick column of black smoke into the …

IF YOU HAVE tried to bake a cake recently, you might have had a hard time finding eggs. The empty shelves are a sign of the devastating impact of avian influenza, H5N1 or HPAI, on commercial poultry flocks in California.The …

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.

As local governments try to stretch their budgets to accommodate a new wave of mental health cases, a new program is trying to shift the emergency response from uniformed officers to trained mental health counselors. Since the killing by police …

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.

About two weeks after heavy surf damaged the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, forcing its closure and all the businesses there, the city will host a reopening on Jan. 4.

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.

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) on Dec. 19 announced a new rule that will provide notice to the public in advance of applications of certain hazardous and drift-prone agricultural pesticides.

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.