It was 10:00 PM, a week ago today, that the phone rang with a recorded message tell us to evacuate. The thunder and lightning storm from less than 36 hours prior caused hundreds of fires around the state, and a complex of fires on the Santa Cruz side of our mountain. There were so many fires that Cal Fire named them the CZU Complex and said that the fires would likely merge into one big fire at some point. CZU is the three-letter designation for the Cal Fire crew that takes care of the Santa Cruz, Ben Lomand, Felton, Boulder Creek, Davenport, and so on, areas. Essentially, the CZU unit takes care of the South Santa Cruz mountains and coastal area.
After getting the call, we immediately packed up the essentials (computers, credit cards, some clothes and headed down the mountain. Each day, after confirming that the fire is not coming our way, we've come up to make the property even more fire resistant and to check on the garden. The smoke varies. Sometimes it is fairly clear, then the wind changes and the air gets foul, so we leave. There is a kind of beauty to the smoke as the sunlight tries to break through. I wish only that it was fog and and not wild fire smoke.
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