The Weekly Dump 8.21.20

Santa Cruz is on Fire

After high winds, thunder, and lightning pounded Santa Cruz in the middle of the night last Saturday night, the lightning strikes generated from that storm created a number of wildfires in the Santa Cruz mountains, which have combined into a raging inferno that has burned nearly 50,000 acres already across both Santa Cruz and Santa Mateo counties. Bonny Doon was evacuated and heavily hit by the fire. Big Basin State Park was also heavily hit, with the fire destroying most of the park’s buildings and infrastructure. The towns of Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, and Felton, as well as parts of Scotts Valley were under mandatory evacuation orders as of Thursday night.

Nearly a thousand firefighters are currently fighting what’s being called the “CZU Lightning Complex”. At a press conference on Thursday night, CalFire said more than 50 structures have burned and nearly 21,000 structures are currently threatened. Nearly 50,000 people in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties have been ordered to evacuate and leave. Helicopters have mostly not been able to do fire retardant drops because the smoke is so thick.

Thank you to all the firefighters and first responders and public safety people who are out in the thick of this. It’s bad enough to be dealing with the constantly shifting challenges of a global pandemic and then we get hit with this. Pull together and help each other out here. Put aside political differences and see each other for what we are, neighbors in need of each other. We are better and stronger when we work together. I know so many people want to try to help but please try to stay off the roads right now and leave them open for emergency vehicles and people evacuating. If you want to help, check on your neighbors who may be alone and vulnerable. To all the folks from Bonny Doon, Boulder Creek, Felton, Scotts Valley, and everywhere in between who had to leave their homes, we are here for you. We will all get though this together. You are in our thoughts and hearts and we will take care of you. And everyone please help the wildlife by leaving out water for them.

Current Evacuation Orders in Santa Cruz County:

  • Waterman Gap Loop, Upper HWY 236, Boulder Creek Golf Course, Heartwood Hill, Lodge Road, Community of Little Basin, Lower China Grade, Upper China Grade, Community of Kings Hwy, Lower Jamison Creek, Gallion Heights, Fallen Leaf Neighborhood, Foxglove Lane (Zones CRZ10, CRZ13, BOU36, BOU20, BOU30, BOU31, BOU36, BOU37, BOU21)
  • Saratoga Toll Road, San Lorenzo Park, Riverside Grove-Community of Teilh Drive, Wildwood Road (BOU38, BOU39, BOU40, BOU41, BOU42, BOU43)
  • Everyone on Empire Grade Road, from Felton Empire north, all of Pine Flat Road, all of Ice Cream Grade, Bonny Doon Road, in between Pine Flat Road, Martin Road, and all associated side streets are under an evacuation order. (CRZ1, CRZ2, CRZ3, CRZ4, CRZ5, CRZ10, CRZ11, CRZ12, CRZ13, CRZ14, CRZ15)
  • Bonny Doon south of Ice Cream Grade, to include Pine Flat Road South is now under an evacuation order.
  • Areas of Alba Road, Hubbard Gulch and Fanning Grade (Zone BEN 1)
  • Vicinity of Davenport south to the city limits. This includes Davenport, Davenport Landing and Coast Road.
  • Ben Lomond
  • All areas of Felton, this includes all FEL Zones. (Zones: FEL 1, FEL 2, FEL 3, FEL 4, FEL 5, FEL 6)
  • The area of Zayante Canyon, all ZAY Zones. (Zones: ZAY 1- ZAY 17)
  • Scotts Valley area west of Highway 17
  • All Scott’s Valley residents West of State Route 17 (Zones: SCO 1-5, SCO 7, SCO 14-20 SCO 21 – SCO 25)
  • The Santa Cruz County area east of Zayante Canyon, west of State Route 17 and south of State Route 35 (Zones: CRZ 18, CRZ 19, CRZ 20)
  • University of California Santa Cruz, campus only (Zone: SCZ 4)
  • Paradise Park (Zones: CRZ 63, CRZ 64)

Evacuation centers have been set up at the following locations:

  • Santa Cruz County Fairground, 2601 E. Lake Avenue in Watsonville.
  • Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz
  • Santa Cruz Seventh Day Adventist Camp Grounds, 1931 Soquel San Jose Rd
  • Santa Cruz Bible Church, 440 Frederick St., Santa Cruz. Room for 76 evacuees as well as parking.
    Congregational Church of Soquel (parking only), 4951 Soquel Dr., Soquel. Bathrooms available for evacuees.
  • Twin Lakes Church (parking only), 2701 Cabrillo College Dr., Aptos. Up to 50 cars and RV’s, bathrooms, water and food available.
  • Cabrillo College Lot K (parking only), 6500 Soquel Dr., Aptos

For help with animal evacuations, contact the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter at 831-471-1182. Evacuation site for the county and livestock is Watsonville County Fairgrounds. Call to confirm space if needed.

Santa Cruz County Closes Beaches For Labor Day Weekend

On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors announced the closures of all beaches across Santa Cruz County over Labor Day weekend, starting at 5AM on Saturday and ending at 5PM on Monday. Water activities will still be allowed during the closure. From 4 to 8PM on Saturday and Sunday, the beaches will be open to the public. The county is calling it a “sunset provision”. Santa Cruz law enforcement say they will add extra patrols for the holiday weekend. This closure includes all jurisdictions in Santa Cruz County.

Santa Cruz Murder Suspects Arrested

Last Friday, Santa Cruz Police Detectives arrested two 24 year old men and charged them with the recent murder of a man in broad daylight on the west side of Santa Cruz about 3 weeks ago. Both men were local and from Santa Cruz. Search warrants were served at several locations and evidence was collected for the investigation before both men were booked at the Santa Cruz County Jail for murder and other related charges. The recent murder happened on Tuesday, July 28th. Officers and first responders were dispatched to a victim of a shooting on Mission Street and when they arrived, they found a 28 year old victim suffering from a gunshot wound sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle. The victim died at the hospital. Further investigation determined the shooting occurred at the intersection of Mission Street and Fair Avenue.

One of the men was arrested and charged with four felonies back in January of this year, but we all know that’s enough to keep you in jail in Santa Cruz.

When Will We Start Taking This Seriously?

California. When are you going to start taking sexual crimes against women seriously? This week a guy was charged with felonious sexual battery on an unconscious person (basically raping someone passed out) and his bail was set at $5k. This is how “progressive” policies protect women in California. The inmates run the asylum here.

Getting Kicked in the Brass Balls

Monday night Around 8:30PM, Santa Cruz Police noticed a suspicious vehicle parked oddly near the railroad tracks by Shaffer Road whose registration tags had expired in 2016. A search of the truck revealed several high capacity rifle magazines. A search of the 46 year old driver, who was a felon, revealed a loaded handgun in his pants, along with heroin and meth. He was charged with drug possession, being a felon in possession of a gun, carrying a loaded firearm in public illegally, and having brass knuckles. His bail was set at $25K and last check he’s still jail.

Penny Lane

You’d think being a car thief and resisting arrest might be a reason to set bail at more than one cent. But here we are. A 36 year old male was arrested on Monday, charged with those two felonies, and his bail was set at one cent. I hope he’s not penniless. Penny Lane the jail it boots another customer. We see the sheriff sitting waiting for a trend. And then the judges they come rushing in. From the COVID strain. Very strange!

Downtown Robbery Suspect Arrested

Sunday morning around 9AM, Santa Cruz Police responded to the 200 block of Laurel Street where they arrested a 24 year old woman and charged her with robbery. She was arrested twice in 3 days this past May. Last check she was still in county jail on a $50K bond.

Aptos Assault Suspect Arrested

Last Friday around midnight, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 100 block of Aptos beach Road for a disturbance involving a 40 year old male. He was eventually arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism, and battery and his bail was set at $25K. Last check he’s still in county jail. He’s been arrested at least 5 times since 2017.

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22 Comments

  1. Thank you once again !! This crap is getting old. Why do we put up with this crap ?? Why does the Sheriff let this crap continue on ?? Did you see the Town Hall meeting?? With McHenry?? Talk about insanity !!
    Thank you again for the dump that tells it like it is!!!!

    • It is getting old. regular citizens need to arm themselves to protect themselves & their property. Buy a pellet pistol, a cheap .22, or something with more power (i.e,pain). Take lessons if you need to learn to shoot. Don’t hem & haw, just do it! Join w/friends or neighbors if you need to. You are under seige folks. don’t sit around pissing & moaning about the lack of a police presence. Get on the stick! Santa cruz is under seige. Stand up to it! Don’t be afraid. The non-admin street cops are on your side! Not the chief’s.

      • MuyDeplorable

        That is not necessarily good advice. Resorting to a weapon, even “brandishing” one when not necessary, even on your own property, can be a serious offense. This is not Wyoming. On the other hand, if the thugs are worried about it and shy away, that is a good thing.

  2. SCT sent out an email to send the Greusomator gov an email to request fire help. Good Idea.
    https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/ is his email. They suggested “Gavin – when you ran for office Santa Cruz supported you. Now we desperately need your support. Save Santa Cruz by immediately sending more firefighters and resources to fight CZU Lightning Complex Fires. Our homes are burning! ” Works for me.
    We had an Ben Lomond evacuee here last night, and has moved on with her cat to elsewhere.
    The cat was not having it, but it’s nice here, relatively speaking.
    Suks. Real. Bad. They just bought their house a month ago and is endangered.
    Hey. I live 3 blocks from the beach. That’s one fire line that is going to hold I figure.

  3. So being a felon with enough weapons and ammo to commit mass murder (and a bunch of heroin and meth) only gets $25k bail, but robbery at 9a.m. Gets $50k? What am I missing?

  4. We’re told the fire perimeter(s) is hard to determine because of smoke. I’d think aerial/satellite infrared imaging would be ideal for that, but apparently not.

    Some of the most decent people I’ve known live(d) in that almost mystical valley. Best wishes for everyone, human & otherwise.

    So far the city of Santa Cruz is not burning, but that too could change. In the worst case scenario we’ll all be scrambling down to the beaches.

  5. I saw on KSBW they arrested 5 people for looting in the evacuation zone. I hope they throw the book at them.

    • MuyDeplorable

      I was just going to post that, but you are ahead of me. I read it on Breitbart (not just rightist politics there). Mug shots shown. Caught at Fall Creek Drive, which I suppose is in Felton. Judging from the mug shots, they don’t look like habituals, just opportunists.

  6. Theodora Kerry

    While the beaches remain the ultimate fire line if city residents must quickly flee the encroaching flames, don’t forget that the beaches will be closed Sat. 9/5 through Mon. 9/7, so you’ll need to remain in the water all day until 4-8pm Sat. & Sun. when you can come ashore, dry off, eat, etc., after which you must return to the water until after 5pm on Mon. Not sure what time on Mon. evening you need to return to the water to avoid a ticket. Don’t forget your masks as the number of swimmers may require you to be closer than 6ft. It would be a shame to escape death by fire only to catch COVID from a selfish, self-centered non-mask-wearing neighbor who refuses to sacrifice their life for you.

    A big shout out to all the churches opening their doors and parking lots to the evacuees. But please don’t shout too loud! We don’t want our duly elected Lord Governor Newsom to hear. He’s already tried to close down the churches, so their parking lots could be next.

  7. Just the Facts

    If your god won’t listen to your prayers unless your located in some ostentatious building and you still refuse to wear a mask when the air is full of lung-burning smoke and ash, you may want to re-examine your core beliefs. Fire dosn’t care what your politics are. Neither does Covid. Now”s the time to all work together to get through this.

    • MuyDeplorable

      We are not all in this together. Example: Family A purchased a house in Santa Cruz when they went for under $30,000. The property is now worth $500,000, but due to Prop 13, it is taxed at value $50,000. Next door, Family B purchased an identical house for $500,000 and is paying property tax at that value. One day, A says to B, “We are all in this together.” The reply from B is not printable here, not even by Santa Mierda standards.

      Incidentally, group worship has very little to do with location. It is the religious way of saying, “We are all (believers) in this together.”

      • The post above states “Now’s the time to all WORK together” which is not the same as what you imply. Many people who “have more”, whether that’s real estate, restaurants, laundry shops, room for housing livestock, are reaching out to share at this time. Since you feel so strongly that prop 13 is the cause of whatever inequality you may be experiencing, you should start railing about the benefits the corporations receive from that, which are much more significant than your next door neighbor’s. A change to that aspect of 13 would benefit a considerably broader segment of society.

        Regarding your comment earlier that this is not Wyoming. There are plenty of old timers in the mountains who know how to take care of themselves. They just don’t make a lot of noise about it on various forums.

      • You ignore the fact that under Prop 13 almost everyone who is still alive voluntarily entered into these agreements with full knowledge of the exact cost burden levied beforehand. So yes, we are all in this together, except for some people who look for sour grapes to eat later.

        A $30,000 house that is exactly the same as a $500,000 house is actually a discussion about the worthless fiduciary policies that politicians promote and allow. Stop voting for these people if you want something different to happen.

    • Just the Facts are cloth masks are useless against smoke. Better to stay inside that building.
      To Muy attacks on Prop 13 are just a way of raising taxes. One must consider.. should tax rates just go up and up? Does the government taking a larger and larger share make sense? Where does that end? There must be some limit that says that is enough government, or we all end up essentially working for the government, a de-facto communism. The prop 13 rules are fair in that they apply to everyone the same way, and based on real known sales value, not made up value. I would also be OK with abolishing property taxes altogether. When 8 people live in a house compared to two, should they pay more? (ans: maybe yes) What does assessed value have to do with paying for city services like streets, police,fire, parks, libraries that are really consumed by individuals, not pricey houses?

      • I just submitted a comment that said essentially the same thing you did, but it was moderated out. I’d like to know why.

      • MuyDeplorable

        I believe that my point was missed. To put it another way, “We are all in the same boat” sounds great, until the boat hits an iceberg and there are not enough lifeboats.

        I was reading an online article, in which some 81-year old man near Vacaville mourned that he had a nice home and ranch until it burned down. Didn’t say whether he built it, bought it, or inherited it. In any case, folks much under 81 who work just as hard throughout their lives, will never have a nice home and ranch.

        Got the home and ranch? Good for you! Wish I had one. But we are not all in this together. Have you ever noticed that when a stranger calls you “bro” he’s a transient looking for a handout?

        • Your argument is like if someone wins the lotto, you should get some of that too.
          Believe me, those dollars were harder to come by 35 years ago than they are today. Seems to me the problem is inflation, not that someone bought a house a long time ago. They also can’t eat their house, it’s on paper only unless it sells, but they wear out, and continually need reinvestment. Instead of buying a house, if I had rented and put extra money in bonds/stock market, you would want some of that too? The cherry on the top would be to call wealth inequality racist while you’re at it, some people do. Unless there is fraud or monopoly distortions of the free market (not saying there isn’t), inequality in itself is normal. It’s that fraud, those monopoly distortions, debt bubble, and corrupt government that need addressing, not coveting your neighbors house or tax payments. If you think lowering your tax payments is the result of no Prop 13, think again. Other people would just pay more, and bigger government would be the result. The biggest monopoly of all is the government. Bigger won’t be better.

  8. What will happen is there will be a false sense of inequality among the millennials which will cause the laws to be changed so that there will be high taxes on any profits on housing, investments and hard work and modest lives. Goods will have high tariffs a la socialist European countries right along about the time that those ranting about inequality begin earning money, investing in their futures and buying home. good luck with that one.

  9. Noticing more political discussion here than ever before. Maybe you’d allow a link to a forums where your readers can share their ideas in depth. I’m sure you’ve already entertained that idea. I do find it rare that Internet discussions or debates ever go anywhere productive. However, I feel like your audience, almost all of them are the types that Have the ability to save Santa Cruz from stupid. I know your comments section alone takes time and effort to moderate it into what it’s been. You’re selfless time, and effort it must take to shed light on the ugly realities going on in our community are deeply appreciated by many. I feel like you’re doing, AND have been doing more For this town, than anyone but maybe a few others. I’ll also say you’ve been at it long before it was “cool” to protect our community.

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