SCOTTS VALLEY – The CZU Lightning Complex Fire Burning in the mountains of Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties swam Thursday to 48,000 acres, leading authorities to completely evacuate the communities of Felton, Zayante and Scotts Valley.
“It’s a historic event,” said Ian Larkin, boss of CalFire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit. ‘We have not seen any fires in any of these counties for seven years. And those fires were much smaller than what we have in front of us today. ”
Crews saw a growth of 700 to 1,000 acres an hour in heavy wood, said CalFire incident commander Billy See.
“That’s a dangerous spread for our firefighters and for all those residents out there,” See said.
“We need to be aware that we are in historic times in this fire where we are dealing here on the coast,” he continued. “All residents here in San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County should be aware of this, pay attention to social media and pay attention to the orders and warnings that come. It is a dangerous situation for all involved. ”
Ordinary embarrassment of 1,000 personnel has been attributed to the fire, but “it’s not enough yet,” See said.
By 6 p.m., the fire was contained at zero percent. The fire threatened 20,952 structures and destroyed at least 50 structures. Nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated.
“We try to place the few resources we have in the most advantageous, strategic areas possible to suppress these fires and protect those structures,” said Chief Mark Brunton of CalFire Operations.
Authorities advised residents to stay out of the evacuation zones.
“I want to make sure citizens understand that we need to make sure they are safe, in order to do our job,” Larkin said. ‘Get out of the area. … We will do our best to protect your property, but most importantly we want to make sure you are protected. ”
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