CZU Complex fire declared controlled
The Cal Fire Santa Cruz - San Mateo Unit says as of Dec. 23 the CZU Complex fire is out
SANTA CRUZ >> The CZU August Lightning Complex fire, which burned more than 86,500 acres and destroyed 911 homes in Santa Cruz County alone, has been declared controlled by Cal Fire.
The blaze was contained in late September after firefighters established a fire line across the entire perimeter of the CZU Complex. But defining the CZU Complex as controlled means the fire is completely out and there isn’t risk of the blaze reigniting.
“When we call it controlled, we’re saying we are 100 percent confident that fire isn’t going to go anywhere,” Cal Fire CZU Chief Ian Larkin told the Sentinel.
Through Thanksgiving Cal
Fire crews were responding to spot fires in the CZU Complex burn area.
“We were running a lot of calls for service all the way up until that first part of December, and then it started to subside with the last increase in rain that we got,” Larkin said.
The fire continues to impact the Santa Cruz community, more than four months after it ignited.
“This is a historic event,” Larkin said. “We have never in our county’s history had a fire this large, that is on record.”
And as Santa Cruz County enters the rainy season, the risk of another natural hazard looms: debris flows.
In downtown Boulder Creek, signs with the slogan “We see and love you you CZU fire victims” have begun popping up in storefronts. Antonia Bradford, a Boulder Creek resident who lost her home in the CZU Complex, came up with the idea.
“When I first started coming back to Boulder Creek to go to my land there were so many signs thanking the firefighters and welcoming people back home,” Bradford said. “The signs feel incredibly hurtful because they make those of us who lost everything feel excluded. I understood it of course, but there were no signs for the victims, and it made me feel like I didn’t belong in SLV anymore.”
Bradford says at this point in the recovery, more compassion and outreach should go toward those who lost their homes.
“I think it may be time to shift the focus to the victims of this fire,” Bradford said. “Many victims are struggling with depression and grief and could really use some community support and showing that we matter and that our community loves us.”