Santa Cruz County Public Safety Articles

Mountain Community Theater’s ‘The CZU Fire in Their Own Words: Fighting Fires, Losing Homes and Rebuilding Community’ is a living document and gift to the community

Steven Carrillo, an active-duty Air Force servicemember, fell down a rabbit hole of Facebook extremism and became convinced he could start a new civil war. Then he turned his online obsession into real-life murder.

Extreme climate conditions that can be traced directly back to global warming are fueling the Oak Fire, the biggest California fire of 2022. Here’s how climate change is causing the disaster.

The Cal Fire grant to the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County will fund the Lockhart Shaded Fuel Break, a vegetation management project

A large wildland fire opened up in Aromas Thursday afternoon prompting a strong response by Cal Fire, Aromas Tri-County Fire and other agencies who attacked the blaze from the ground and sky. Pumped by winds and dry summer conditions, the …

County sheriffs have tended to be predominantly white, male and politically conservative. But in California, those trends may be moving in the other direction, as recent elections and legislation appear to show.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it has seen a tenfold increase in the amount of ghost guns seized by law enforcement since 2016.

California's assault weapons ban, in place since 1989, may not stand up to a new Supreme Court decision that makes it much harder for states to impose gun control. A federal court brief filed June 30 aims to strike down …

Report calls out lack of brush clearing on escape roads

As California insurance companies have revoked the fire policies of thousands of homeowners, the state has taken steps to get them covered again.

The grant is for local forest health and wildfire resilience work.

The 2022 California wildfire season looks like another dangerous one, with the state's historic drought showing no signs of letting up. Here's what to expect, and some measures the state is taking to slow down the flames.

WATSONVILLE—A large swath of the Pajaro Valley was blanketed with heavy smoke Monday afternoon after a fire erupted in a brush-covered field between the Pajaro River and 30 Riverside Road. The 3:45pm incident drew a large response from Watsonville Fire, …

Statistics presented to the city council revealed a spike in crime during the pandemic, but SVPD say things are getting back to normal.

Workers’ comp cases for PTSD are routinely denied, and many crews are fatigued from working weeks at a time with no time off

Residents of the Redwoods on the River trailer park in Ben Lomond were told to flee as fire consumed a pair of mobile homes on June 1. The blaze sent toxic plumes of smoke into the canopy above. Sgt. Jason …

San Lorenzo Valley High School junior Gianna Schwarzbach has always been an athlete. From the soccer pitch to the campus pool where she plays varsity water polo, Schwarzbach’s constitution is tough as nails. For those who know her, it is …

California is creating wildlife crossings that can help animals get across dangerous highways without risk of death from vehicle strikes. Here are five of them.

Following the K-Street shooting, a freelance journalist's thoughts about reporting on the deadliest single episode of gun violence in Sacramento history.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Forecasters are predicting a cooling trend and possible rain for the weekend, with possible snow in the mountains, bringing a small measure of much-needed moisture to an already parched Central Coast. But that weather will not last long, …