330 Buildings Destroyed In CZU August Lightning Complex Fires

Read Wednesday's story on the fires here.

SAN MATEO-SANTA CRUZ COUNTY LINE, CA — As firefighters battling the CZU August Lightning Complex fires inch toward containment, officials reported Tuesday that the blaze has destroyed 330 buildings — nearly double the number reported Monday.

Nearly all of those buildings are in Santa Cruz County, with 11 destroyed buildings in San Mateo County, according to the Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit (CZU). Santa Cruz County has released a map that shows areas where crews have confirmed homes were damaged.

Nearly 250 of those buildings are homes. Those numbers are expected to increase as damage inspection teams continue to survey areas where fire activity has died down.

While those numbers are sobering, officials say their luck has started to change. The fires have scorched nearly 79,000 acres — very little change from Monday — and containment has increased from 13 to 17 percent as more than 1,600 first responders make significant progress in the firefight, thanks largely to improved weather and additional ranks of firefighters that have continued to arrive, said Mark Brunton of Cal Fire at Tuesday morning's news conference.

Smoke cleared Monday, making way for aerial firefighting resources to join in the fight and drop 200,000 gallons of water on the flames.

"[The fire is] doing exactly what we want it to do," he said.

Tuesday's skies were also clearer, allowing for views of the fires, the Scotts Valley Police Department wrote on Facebook.

"Portions of the fire are not too far off," police wrote, adding they will notify the public when it's safe to reenter the community.

More good news: Evacuation warnings were lifted Tuesday afternoon for Santa Clara County, which was put on notice as a precaution due to the possibility that fire conditions could change rapidly.

The battle has not been an easy one, particularly for volunteer firefighting crews in Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek, battling fires in difficult terrain with limited resources.

Cal Fire's support became strained after journalists reported that the agency was unable to provide adequate assistance as wildfires burned across the state, Ben Lomond Fire Chief Stacie Brownlee told the Los Angeles Times.

Firefighters turned to an elite Menlo Park-based FEMA search and rescue crew — one of just 28 in the country — for help, the LA Times reported. Dubbed California Task Force 3, the unit fortified volunteer firefighting crews with extra water tenders, cots, radios, food and water, and more to bolster their camps, according to the paper.

Now, firefighters have begun to extinguish fires burning toward Davenport and the upper end of the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, Brunton said. Crews have maintained their control of the fire line in that area.

Fire has remained atop the ridge near the Highway 9 corridor, he said. Fire lines have been established in Bonny Doon and crews are working to delve deeper into the fire.

Officials have reminded the public to stay out of evacuation areas, as firefighters may have to divert resources to perform rescues and bridges or other infrastructure may burn and collapse.

A 70-year-old man was killed in the fires. No other injuries have been reported.

This is a developing story; refresh for updates.

Information on road closures, evacuation orders and more, per Cal Fire:

Road Closures

San Mateo County

• Pescadero Creek Road between Alpine and Cloverdale Rd.

• Cloverdale Road between Pescadero Creek Road and Gazos Creek.
• Whitehouse Canyon Road at Highway 1
• Portola Heights Road at Skyline
• State Route 1 at Rossi Road
• State Route 1 at Ano Nuevo

Santa Cruz County

• State Route 1 at Shaffer Road to Ano Nuevo

• State Route 9 at State Route 35 to Paradise Park
• Westbound Zayante at Graham Hill Dr to Lockwood
• Empire Grade at Heller Drive
• Westbound State Route 35 at Upper Zayante into San Mateo County
• Westbound State Route 236 at Jamison Creek
• Pine Flat at Empire Grade
• Ice Cream Grade at Empire Grade
• Felton Empire at Fall Creek
• Empire Grade at Smith Grade
• Empire Grade at Felton Empire
• Bonny Doon Rd at Pine Flat
• Alba Rd at Empire Grade
• State Route 35 at Bear Creek Rd to Boulder Creek
• Granite Creek at Scotts Valley, this includes southbound offramp closure at
Highway 17 at Granite Creek
• Westbound Mount Hermon at Glen Canyon Rd to Graham Hill Road
• Zayante at State Route 35

Evacuation Orders

San Mateo County

• Communities of Loma Mar and Dearborn Park Area (Zone SMC E018)

(8/18/2020 5:00 pm)
• Pescadero Creek County Park Area (Zone SMC E024) (8/18/2020 4:30 pm)
• Butano Community Area (Zone SMC E098) (8/18/2020 5:00 pm)
• Butano State Park including Barranca Knolls Community (Zone SMC E019)
(8/18/2020 4:30 pm)
• Butano Creek Drainage (Zone SMC E055) (8/18/2020 4:30 pm)
• South Skyline Blvd. Area near Highway 9 (SMC E049) (8/18/2020 11:00 pm)
• Russian Ridge Open Space Reserve Area (Zone SMC E027)(8/18/2020 11:00 pm)
• Middleton Tract Area (Zone SMC E044) (8/18/2020 11:00 pm)
• Portola Redwoods State Park and the Portola Heights Community Area
• (Zone SMC E048) (8/18/2020 11:00 pm)
• Pescadero Beach Area (Zone SMC E073) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Bean Hollow Area (Zone SMC E042) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Pescadero Area (Zone SMC E043) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• San Gregorio Area (Zone SMC E022) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• La Honda Area (Zone SMC E028) 8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Red Barn Area (Zone SMC E010) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Russian Bridge Open Space Area (Zone SMC E027) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Skylonda Area (Zone SMC E012) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Langley Hill Area ( Zone SMC E010) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)
• Bean Hollow Area (Zone SMC E042) (8/20/2020 6:00 pm)

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) (8/18/2020 10 pm)

• Saratoga Toll Road, San Lorenzo Park, Riverside Grove-Community of Teilh Drive, Wildwood Road (Zones: BOU38, BOU39, BOU40, BOU41, BOU42, BOU43) (8/18/2020 7:30 PM)

• 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) (8/19/2020 1:00 am)

• Bonny Doon south of Ice Cream Grade, to include Pine Flat Road South is now under an evacuation order. (CRZ7, CRZ8)

• Areas of Alba Road, Hubbard Gulch and Fanning Grade. (BEN 1) (8/19/2020 6:00 pm)

• All areas of Ben Lomond (Zones BEN 2 – BEN 5) (8/19/2020 7:00 pm)

• The area of Lompico (Zones ZAY 11, ZAY 12) (8/19/2020 7:00 pm)

• All areas adjacent to the Bonny Doon and San Lorenzo Valley should be prepared to evacuate if necessary. (CRZ7, CRZ8) (8/20/2020 1:00 am)

• Areas West of Highway 9 to Empire Grade

• South from Bear Creek Road to Felton, this includes Ben Lomond

• Paradise Park (Zones: CRZ 63, CRZ 64) (8/20/2020 7:00pm)

• University of California Santa Cruz, campus only (Zone: SCZ 4) (8/20/2020 7:00pm)

• The areas of Zayante Canyon (Zones: ZAY 1 – ZAY 17) (8/20/2020 1:00 pm)

• Scotts Valley West of State Route 17 (Zones: SCO 1-5, SCO 7, SCO 14-20, SCO 21 – SCO 25) (8/20/2020 7:00 pm)

• Davenport south (Zones: CRZ 6, CRZ 9, CRZ 17) (8/19/2020 7:00 pm)

• All areas of Felton (Zones: FEL 1 – FEL 6) (8/20/2020 8:00 am) • Butano State Park area including Barrranca Knolls Community (Zone: SMC E019) (8/18/2020 4:30 pm)

• East of Zayante Canyon west of State Route 17 and south of State Route 35 (Zones: CRZ 18, CRZ 19, CRZ 20) (8/20/2020 7:00 pm)

Evacuation Centers

San Mateo County

• Half Moon Bay High School, 1 Lewis Foster Drive, Half Moon Bay

• San Mateo Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Drive

Santa Cruz County

• Santa Cruz County Fairground, 2601 E. Lake Avenue, Watsonville

• Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church Street, Santa Cruz

• Seventh Day Adventist Camp Grounds, 1931 Soquel San Jose Rd

• Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos CA

• Santa Cruz Bible Church, 440 Frederick Street, Santa Cruz
• Simpkins Family Swim Center, 919 17th Ave (ADA only)
Twin Lakes Church, 2701 Cabrillo College Drive

Animal Evacuation Centers

• Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Avenue in Watsonville (Large farm animals are being accepted, for information and assistance contact 650-450-0520)
• Watsonville Animal Shelter, 580 Airport Blvd