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First, I am so sorry. There is nothing quite like losing the foundation from underneath you. Please know that you are not alone… though there will be days that go by where you feel as though you are. Please know that there is a community here for you when you are ready. Give yourself time to grieve however you need to and know that it is okay to receive help and assistance (every one of us will need to ask for help at one point in our lives). Try and find a few trusted friends/family members that can be your pillars of support so that they can assist in carrying some of the weight on your shoulders.

This evening Cal Fire lifted its emergency evacuation order for the UC Santa Cruz residential campus.      I have amended the Aug. 20 emergency declaration so that employees who live at Laureate Court, Hagar Court, Ranch View Terrace, Hagar Meadow, and Cardiff Terrace can return to their homes tonight. The rest of the residential campus remains closed, as do the Coastal Science Campus and Westside Research Park. We know everyone is eager to return to campus, whether it’s for student housing, to conduct research, or to provide on-site services. We are eager too, but must first ensure all pieces are in place for our community to begin returning to these sites. Closing the residential campus last week required us to shut down several critical systems, including our cogeneration plant, our natural gas systems, and other basic infrastructure. They must be returned safely online before the campus is fully repopulated.Additionally, parts of upper campus, including Family Student Housing, remain without power, and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is not sure when power will be restored. We will continue to provide updates in the days and weeks ahead.                                                         Except for the people living in the employee housing communities outlined above, no one should attempt to access the residential campus, Coastal Science Campus, or Westside Research Park until directed that it is OK to do so.We are optimistic that we will very soon be able to re-open our Coastal Science Campus and Westside Research Park. With the Cal Fire order lifted, we are working hard to ensure our residential communities are ready to welcome back the students that were forced to evacuate. Reopening the residential campus will be deliberate and phased. Everything will be done to support the health and well-being of our community, and in a way that helps to minimize the spread of COVID-19.We are immediately focused on restoring critical campus infrastructure, allowing employees and families to return to campus housing, and resuming services provided by our COVID-19 diagnostic lab and our Student Health Center. With Cal Fire lifting evacuation orders for several areas, people should anticipate traffic congestion and limited visibility due to smoke. I encourage us all to be patient and kind, particularly in these moments of collective stress. Faculty and staff should be ready to show their campus or other ID to enter employee housing communities and should exercise caution when returning to their homes, especially if they do so after dark. I encourage you to visit one of the following sites about who to contact and tips for returning home following a wildfire:Red Cross: Be Prepared for Wildfires during COVID-19Cal Fire Post Wildfire RecoveryFEMA: Returning From EvacuationWhile we are fortunate the wildfire never reached our residential campus, the ash and smoke it created entered our buildings, requiring that we assess and clean some areas of campus before they can be reopened.In the coming days, we expect to allow research labs approved under our COVID-19 restrictions and some student housing to reopen, and that dining services will resume preparing meals at our residential campus. As a reminder you can find consistent updates at ucsc.edu/fire. Our community has shown exceptional strength and compassion in the face of great adversity. We are beginning the long road of recovering from this wildfire. I know we will emerge a more resilient and close-knit campus and community. Stay safe, stay well, and stay connected.

CalFire announced on Wednesday that the City of Scotts Valley and unincorporated areas nearby, including Pasatiempo, Rolling Woods, Paradise Park and Cave Gulch, can repopulate immediately. CalFire has expressed confidence in fire lines protecting communities south of the San Lorenzo Valley to the east of Highway 9. Be sure to check out the current evacuation map to ensure your zone, as identified in the CalFire release, matches up with areas allowed to repopulate. We hope to learn more in coming days about other areas that will be allowed to repopulate, though we expect it will be some time for the hardest hit areas of Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek and Boony Doon. On Wednesday, CZU CalFire reported the Lightning Complex fires was 81,333 acres. While containment has increased to 21%, 23,000 structures are still threatened. On Wednesday, we learned that the staggering number of structures burned is at least 646, with all but 11 in Santa Cruz County. The damage assessment is just 55% complete. While we don't know the exact extent of the damage or the location of every damaged home, the County has released a Damage Assessment Map that contains up-to-date parcel-specific information about the fire's impact. Please visit the County's Fire Resources page for updates on sheltering and other services.

The Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center has released a map of properties damaged in the CZU Lighting Complex Fires.

We'll be updating this page with relevant information as it comes in. 

Monday, Aug. 24: CZU Lightning Complex fires had burned through 78,000 acres and destroyed 176 homes and six commercial buildings as of Monday afternoon, and 24,323 more structures were threatened in the path of the fire. The fire was only 13% contained.

On May 20, 2020, Facebook Messenger alerted me to a new note from my college sweetheart, Peter. He and I had met in Southern California circa 1991 at a collegiate Speech & Debate tournament (where I trounced him in the category of Speech to Entertain), and we have remained friends. Peter sent me a link to a stunning home that he had found on Zillow. “Is this in your neighborhood?” he asked. I responded in the affirmative, and asked how a guy living in Oceanside could happen upon a house for sale in Felton, of all places. He and his family were looking for an investment property in Northern California, he said, and this one caught his eye. Was it the stunning interior? The wrap-around deck? The stand-alone cottage that adorned the property? Nope. “There’s a picture of Bigfoot in the backyard, and that’s a first,” said Peter. Daniel Oster is the realtor who put the home on Hillside Drive on the market, and although the house featured five beds, three baths and plenty of room to roam, Oster felt it needed…a hook. Oster decided that this was the property where Bigfoot would make his debut, and sure enough, the hook worked. “We had over 800,000 views on Zillow...one of the top 3 in Zillow’s history,” Oster said. “Bigfoot was seen making the best of the shelter-in-place…reading, baking, exercising, gardening, working in the home shop…” In the end, the property had multiple offers and sold for $101,000 above list price (sorry, Peter). Read on to learn about Oster’s advantage with his innovative Sasquatch placement. Press Banner: When did you start using the Bigfoot costume in conjunction with your business?Daniel Oster: This was the first, and perhaps, the only time Bigfoot made an appearance at one of my listings. The response was overwhelming, so perhaps he'll show up again in the future. PB: How did you come up with the concept?DO: I was inspired by a listing that made the real estate news that featured an inflatable T-Rex... Bigfoot seemed more relevant to the house I was marketing at the time. It was set in a beautiful stand of redwood trees in Felton. PB: Are you in any way affiliated with the Bigfoot museum in Felton?DO: No affiliation, but they are certainly a landmark. PB: Do you hear directly from clients that you were selected as their realtor based upon that fun element of your business?DO:Bigfoot was a conversation starter, but people primarily value working with me for local expertise with a combination of responsiveness and creative problem solving. I did connect with quite a few new clients as a result of this going viral, but my business is almost entirely repeat and referral clients. I always try to have fun along the way, so the silliness factor of Bigfoot certainly resonated with my core group of clientele.  PB: What’s the best story you can share regarding your wearing of the costume?DO: We wanted to bring attention to the property, but we were also trying to bring a bit of levity to folks in the real estate market. The pandemic is stressful for all of us, and we are all trying to make the best of it. I received calls from people all over the country just to let me know that this made them smile. That was the best. PB: How do dogs react to you?DO: The seller's dog, Max, was a bit curious, but I was surprised he wasn't frightened by the costume. PB: What is the best lesson you've learned from your cross-over of Bigfoot and real estate sales?DO: This is really twofold: 1. No matter what is happening in the world, our community is bigger than we realize. Each of us has the ability to impact others in profound ways. 2. Take action. If you have an idea, or inspiration, act on it. We are surrounded by opportunity, but it takes action and follow-through.  PB: And the question we all want to ask you: Do you believe in Bigfoot?DO: I did not believe in Bigfoot before this, and now, I'm sure there's no real Bigfoot. I'm still cleaning hair from my car and office. If Bigfoot was real, there'd be hair all over the forest! 

This past week, our valleys were the site of many aeronautical displays, mostly from attempts to contain wildfires.  However, not all aerial activities were driven through fire procedures.   In the early hours of August 17th, Scotts Valley residents may have witnessed the Water District’s newest project. According to David McNair, the Operations Manager, SVWD has been planning to renovate the Bethany Water Tank, “since late last year.”  After navigating many COVID concerns, the project has finally come to physical fruition, with a helicopter’s help.