Bonny Doon Fires
Former Home in Bonny Doon
Pasture at Former Home
Introduction
This is a long posting about fires in Bonny Doon (Santa Cruz, CA) where I lived for over two decades. If you don’t want to read, you can just look at the pictures.
I was off Facebook for quite some time but went back on last August when the CZU Complex Fire exploded in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I was concerned about the people I knew who still lived there, my former home, and wondering if the lovely area where I had lived would survive. This was not the first fire in the area…
Martin Fire
The Martin Fire was in June 2008. My house was at the corner of Pine Flat and Martin Road, so this one was really close. It consumed over 900 acres and all 1,400 Bonny Doon residents evacuated. My partner’s nephew called me at work in Silicon Valley and said there was a fire in the Doon. I am sure I drove over the speed limit to get there and when I arrived at the top of my road, there was a barricade. The Sheriff said everyone had already evacuated and the road was closed. My dogs were at the house and there was no way I was going to leave them there.
The Sheriff bent over, so I floored it and drove through the barricade. My dogs were fine when I got home but when I stood in the field and saw trees up the road on fire, I knew we had to get out quickly. I think I packed more things for the dogs than myself, of course.
The red dot in the following image was my property on Pine Flat Road. The Martin Fire perimeter is outlined.
Martin Fire
Martin Fire
Martin Fire
Lockheed Fire
The second fire was the Lockheed Fire in August 2009. It was at the end of Empire Grade Road, and yes, Lockheed has a secret, secure facility there. Once again, Bonny Doon evacuated and I got my dogs out and not much else. In both fires, I was one of the first people back in for some reason, and I was interviewed by both radio and newspaper journalists.
Lockheed Fire
CZU Fire Complex
There are conflicting reports but it is generally believed that over 25,000 acres burned in the Santa Cruz Mountains in August 2020. The Bonny Doon that I loved was decimated by the fire and I know many people who lost their homes. The area of Bonny Doon where I lived was saved because of three things:
- The Martin Fire in 2008 cleared out the forest
- After the Martin Fire, local people built ponds, installed generators and fire hydrants, bought bulldozers, and even fire trucks
- Local people refused to evacuate and fought the fire themselves, saving my neighborhood and others close by
CZU Fire from Plane at SFO
Fighting CZU Complex Fire
Water Drop in Bonny Doon
Locals Saving Boony Doon
Locals Saved Bonny Doon
Fire Burned from Mountains to Coast