By Jake Pierce, Good Times News Editor
SCOTTS VALLEY—The number of acres burned by the CZU Lightning Complex fire is up to 81,137, local Cal Fire Deputy Chief Jonathan Cox told reporters Wednesday night.
So far, investigators have found that the fire has destroyed 579 structures in Santa Cruz County. The number of structures lost in San Mateo County is still 11. Also on Wednesday, firefighting crews expanded containment on the fire from 19% to 21%. The fire is threatening 24,000 homes
The UCSC campus is gradually starting to reopen, now that Cal Fire has lifted its evacuation orders for the school.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris Clark told reporters that deputies cited a 73-year-old man who had evacuated and tried to make it back to his home in the evacuation zone. Clark said the man got lost on a mountain trail and spent two nights in the woods before officers found him. He said the sheriff’s office used 120 hours of officer time, an ambulance and a helicopter on the search-and-rescue effort. Additionally, one member of the search-and-rescue team suffered an injury.
Clark said detectives reduced the number of missing persons from six down to three. The three remaining local missing persons are 70-year-old Henry Reinke (last seen Aug. 20), 21-year-old Shane Smith (last seen Aug. 20) and 37-year-old Micah Szoke (last seen Aug. 15). Clark does not believe the three men are fire victims but detectives aren’t sure.
“Hopefully, if you hear these names and you know ’em, you’ll either tell ’em to call us or you call us, which we’d greatly appreciate,” he said.
Clark gave a rough outline for when law enforcement will repopulate the evacuated areas. He said it would be “a day or days”—being intentionally vague about the timing—before Scotts Valley residents could return to their homes
“I say ‘day or days’ because things can change, and I don’t want to give anyone false hope, but I also want to give a rough framework,” Clark said.
He said it could be a week before officers allow Felton to repopulate. Residents of areas, like Boulder Creek and Bonny Doon, that are closer to the fire will be waiting more than a week, he added.
Incident Commander Billy See said the number of fire personnel grew by nearly 300 today. There are now 1,982 personnel working on the incident.
Local Cal Fire Chief Ian Larkin suggested that those who have suffered property damage do one of three things for assistance. They may visit disasterassistance.gov, download the FEMA app or call 800-621-FEMA. Businesses that have suffered losses may contact the Small Business Administration.
The Santa Cruz County Office of Emergency Operations Center has released a map of properties damaged in the fire.
Santa Cruz County declared a state of emergency yesterday.
