Cal Fire drops Bonny Doon garage plan

Cal Fire has abandoned its plan to build a 1,120-square-foot garage to house an engine in at its Fall Creek Station in Bonny Doon.
Original estimates for the job were $50,000, but costs soared to close to $100,000 as building work neared in the fall.
Cal Fire Chief John Ferreira said a combination of expenses related to the project and planning department issues caused it to stall in cash-strapped times.
“It was going to be about $100,000 to build a building that wasn’t necessarily going to be permanent,” Ferreira said.
Santa Cruz County supervisors directed Cal Fire to cancel the plan at their Oct. 26 meeting.
During the winter months, November through May, the Cal Fire engine normally stationed in Bonny Doon must be moved to a closed garage. Cal Fire crews that are housed year-round at Fall Creek Station respond in a county fire engine kept at the adjacent permanent McDermott Station.
During months with milder weather, the Cal Fire engine will likely remain in the existing temporary structure, which has no doors, storage or concrete floor.
The stations stand at the corner of Felton Empire Road and Empire Grade Road in Bonny Doon.