December 21, 2020 Whack and Stack: PG&E’s Toppling of Trees to Prevent Fire Creates New Hazards By Julie Cart, CalMatters In an attempt to prevent wildfires, the utility company is removing vegetation from around power lines. Read More 2
September 9, 2020 Fire-Scorched Bay Area Begins the Long Process of Rebuilding By Jacob Pierce and Jennifer Wadsworth The fires include the CZU Complex, which ripped through the Santa Cruz Mountains to become the state’s ninth-most destructive fire. Read More 1
September 2, 2020 Santa Clara County Supervisor Requests Federal Aid for Those Impacted by SCU Complex Fires By Silicon Valley Newsroom The people affected by one of the largest fires in California history—the SCU Complex—still don’t qualify for FEMA relief. Read More 1
September 2, 2020 Revisiting the Civil Grand Jury Report That Warned About Santa Cruz County’s Wildfire Risk By Jacob Pierce A grand jury report called out several factors that make the Santa Cruz Mountains and surrounding areas particularly vulnerable. Read More 3
August 30, 2020 Bay Area, Central Coast Fires: 1,500+ Structures Leveled So Far By Tony Nuñez The SCU, CZU and LNU Lightning complexes, River Fire and Carmel Fire have chewed through 892,313 acres across 15 counties. Read More 0
August 26, 2020 South Bay Sees Bizarre Mini-Boom as Thousands of Fire Evacuees Pour into Downtown By Janice Bitters The fires burning in the mountains south and west of San Jose have pushed 77,000 people to flee from Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. Read More 6
August 26, 2020 SCU Fires 25 Percent Contained By Jennifer Wadsworth Firefighters made significant progress against the SCU Complex in the past day, allowing Cal Fire to ease some evacuation orders. Read More 0
August 26, 2020 Bay Area Gets Devastating Welcome to Era of Megafires By Jennifer Wadsworth California has never seen anything like the lightning fires that struck amid a pandemic, rolling blackouts and a record heatwave. Read More 13
August 25, 2020 Some Evacuation Orders Ease Up, But Officials Say California ‘Megafires’ Could Burn for Weeks By Jennifer Wadsworth The fires east of Santa Clara Valley have grown to more than 365,000 acres, making it the largest active fire in California. Read More 1
August 24, 2020 Authorities Warn Looters to Stay Away From Fire Evacuation Zones By Todd Guild In addition to cracking down on looting, officials said, they’re also trying to ensure that everyone complies with stay-away orders. Read More 3
August 24, 2020 Lightning Mostly Spares South Bay; Red Flag Warning Lifted By Jennifer Wadsworth Fires raging all around the South Bay continue to close in, prompting new evacuation orders in the Tri-Valley, Morgan Hill and Los Gatos. Read More 0
August 22, 2020 Evacuees Reflect on Loss and Uncertainty as CZU Fires Burn By Jacob Pierce Evacuees of the 63,000-acre CZU Lightning Complex licking up bone-dry forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains share their stories of survival. Read More 0
August 21, 2020 Overnight Growth Makes SCU Complex California’s Biggest Fire By Jennifer Wadsworth In three major clusters, they darkened skies, forced thousands to flee home and pushed California’s firefighting capacity to the brink. Read More 0
August 20, 2020 SCU Complex Grows to 140,000 Acres; Just 5 Percent Contained By Jennifer Wadsworth The skies may have cleared up, but evacuation orders and advisories remain in effect today as the SCU Complex continues to rage. Read More 0
August 19, 2020 Santa Clara County Opens Resource Hub for Fire Evacuees By Jennifer Wadsworth Resident ordered to evacuate to escape the SCU Lightning Complex fire can find shelter at the Milpitas Library starting at 5pm. Read More 0
August 19, 2020 South Bay Air Rated ‘Unhealthy’ for High-Risk Populations By Michael Moore Authorities continue to warn of harmful air quality as smoke drifts into Santa Clara Valley from numerous wildfires burning around the region. Read More 0