Explode to 40,000 acres...

'We've never seen anything like this': Fires in Santa Cruz, San Mateo cos. explode to 40,000 acres

Amy Graff

A series of fires burning in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties called the CZU August Lightning Complex exploded into a monstrous inferno overnight.

The fire was 25,000 acres when everyone went to bed last, and on Thursday Cal Fire officials said it had grown to 40,000 acres with zero containment.  Twenty structures have been destroyed and 8,600 are threatened.

The blaze is racing through a highly flammable landscape that is parched after a year marked by low rainfall and that hasn't seen fire in years. "It's so dry it's something we have not seen historically," said Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Mark Brunton. "We're seeing fire we've never seen in the coastal area before, in terms of amount and severity."

Brunton said when he was talking to firefighters on the scene, they all shook their heads together and said, "We've never seen anything like this."

Cal Fire is fighting the CZU Complex with about 10% of the resources it would usually have for a fire of this size and severity. Brunton said due to the high number of fires spread across the state, "We are woefully short of resources."

An arm of the blaze raced through Big Basin Redwoods State Park on Tuesday, and officials said Wednesday night that multiple structures were damaged, including the park’s headquarters, historic core and campgrounds. (Read more about damage to Big Basin on SFGATE.)

More than 20,000 people are under mandatory evacuation—with residents asked to leave their homes in locations ranging from the Pescadero Beach Area to Boulder Creek — and Brunfton said that number is expected to double in the next 30 hours as the fire is expanding rapidly in size. (Get the latest evacuation information at the Cal Fire San Mateo - Santa Cruz Unit Twitter feed.)

Evacuation centers are open at Pescadero High School, 360 Butano Cuttoff Road in Pescadero; Santa Cruz County Fairground, 2601 E. Lake Ave. in Watsonville; and Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St. in Santa Cruz. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and risk of spreading the virus in centers, Cal Fire is encouraging evacuees to check with friends and family about staying with them.

Due to the heavy smoke, Cal Fire has been unable to operate complete aircraft operations, and they don't expect these conditions to improve for 48 to 72 hours. The focus now is on protecting "life and property." The lack of aircraft over the fire also means that accurate mapping of the blaze is lacking.

San Jose State University cancelled its classes for Wednesday due to the air quality from the fires and will decide at 6 p.m. whether classes will continue for Thursday or will be cancelled as well. (Students and faculty will be updated on the status of campus closures via email, or can check in with the university's Twitter account, @SJSU.)

The CZU August Lightning Complex is named for the blazes that were sparked amid the rash of thunderstorms that moved across California early this week. Go to the Cal Fire incident page for updates, evacuations and road closures.