The CZU Lightning Complex fires were wildfires that burned in Northern California starting in August 2020. The fire complex consisted of fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, including fires that had previously been separately tracked as the Warnella and Waddell fires. The firefighting effort was primarily administered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
25-515: The first fires started around 3:30 A.M. on August 16, 2020, the result of a thunderstorm that produced close to 11,000 bolts of lightning and started hundreds of fires throughout California. These lightning strikes initially started fires separately known as the Warnella Fire, near Davenport and the Waddell Fire, near Waddell Creek , as well as three fires on what would become the northern edge of
50-617: A cancer-causing chemical, led to strained relationships between CEMEX, the Environmental Protection Agency , and County of Santa Cruz . CEMEX ceased operations and decommissioned the plant in 2010. The 8500-acre parcel is now referred to as the CEMEX Redwoods and is planned for future park use. According to the Palo Alto-based Peninsula Open Space Trust , the CEMEX Redwoods have been renamed
75-621: A number of historic buildings were destroyed, including the visitor center at Big Basin. The fire also threatened to burn down the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, reaching within one mile of the campus before firefighters established two fire breaks that stopped the fire, saving both the University and the city of Santa Cruz . On September 22, Cal Fire reported that the complex, which had covered 86,509 acres (35,009 ha), had been fully contained. On December 23 Cal Fire announced that
100-418: A tunnel, a saloon on its border, and its bed for miles denuded of the granite cobbles and sand beds. A sawmill is swiftly cutting out the timber and dirt and debris defile the pools and clog the riffles where lurked the gamey trout." The San Vicente Creek watershed drains 4,500 acres (18 km ). Its waters rise at 2,520 feet (770 m) elevation just north of and below the peak of Ben Lomond Mountain in
125-755: Is a 9.3-mile-long (15.0 km) northern California coastal stream which flows entirely within Santa Cruz County . It flows from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific Ocean . Originally, there was a tidal marsh at the mouth of San Vicente Creek, but this was filled in by a trestle and rampart built by a collaboration between the Ocean Shore Railway and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1906. The creek
150-657: The San Vicente Redwoods Davenport Jail Of historical interest is the Davenport Jail. It has two cells, and was used only twice from the time of its construction in 1914 until its decommissioning in 1936. Today it is a museum featuring coastal history supported by volunteers from the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History . St. Vincent DePaul Church, in Davenport, was built entirely of cement from
175-895: The Santa Cruz Mountains . The creek descends the west-facing slopes of the mountains, picking up one major tributary, Mill Creek . The creek's mouth is at the unincorporated community of Davenport (which had originally been named after the creek). San Vicente Creek is near the southern boundary of the coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ) Central California Coast evolutionary significant unit (ESU). The removal of an over 100 year old, 30-foot wide dam (9.1 m) on its Mill Creek tributary in 2021 removed an impassable barrier to migrating coho salmon and steelhead trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). The removal allowed durable limestone cobble, that coho salmon rely on for their nests, called redds , to move downstream. Just one year later, in September 2022, 15 federally endangered coho salmon fry were identified in
200-538: The United States Census Bureau , the CDP covers an area of 2.8 square miles (7.4 km ), 99.63% of it land and 0.37% of it water. Davenport has mild weather throughout the year, enjoying a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) characterized by cool, wet winters and warm, mostly dry summers. Due to its proximity to Monterey Bay , fog and low overcast are common during the night and morning hours, especially in
225-555: The CZU Complex fire. Two days after the fires began, a change in wind conditions caused these three northern fires to rapidly expand and merge, growing quickly to over 40,000 acres, exacerbated by conditions caused by climate change. The fires destroyed 1,490 buildings, including in the communities of Boulder Creek , Bonny Doon , Swanton , and along Empire Grade Road. Fires burned in both Butano and Big Basin Redwoods state parks, where
250-538: The Mill Creek tributary, for the first time. San Vicente Creek watershed is regionally unique due to the amount of karst underlying the upper watershed. This geological formation fosters significant water infiltration and subsurface movement, resulting in multiple freshwater springs that provide unusually cool summer water temperatures and high summer baseflows ideal for survival of young oversummering salmonids. This Santa Cruz County, California -related article
275-486: The fire was controlled, stating that the fire was fully extinguished and has no risk of reignition. However, it was later discovered that the fire was not quite completely extinguished; redwoods continued to smolder well into 2021. The abbreviation "CZU" refers to the Cal Fire designation for its San Mateo–Santa Cruz Unit, the administrative division for San Mateo, Santa Cruz and San Francisco counties. One person died in
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#1732854806500300-477: The fires, and one other was injured. The documentary The CZU Fire In Their Own Words – Fighting Fires, Losing Homes, and Rebuilding Community covers the fires and was created and directed by Boulder Creek resident Peter Gelblum. Davenport, California Davenport is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County , California . Davenport sits at an elevation of 259 feet (79 m). The 2020 United States census reported Davenport's population
325-553: The following year, the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company manufacturing plant was built nearby. At that time, the closed Davenport Landing post office opened up in the settlement that grew up around the cement plant. It again only used the name of Davenport; hence, the name of the town. Davenport has three restaurants, two art galleries, a store, a post office, the Davenport Cash Store, and Pacific School,
350-454: The former headquarters of Odwalla , a company that made fruit juices. A whaling captain named John Pope Davenport settled at El Jarro Point [ ceb ] , about half a mile from today's town, in 1867. Davenport built a 400-foot wharf at the mouth of Agua Puerca Creek ("agua puerca" translates to "muddy water"). This wharf was built to load the lumber brought down from the hills for shipment to Santa Cruz. A small village grew up around
375-505: The items auctioned off were whaling items leading to speculation that he carried out whaling activities from the port, especially after he started losing money. However, no eyewitness reports of whaling activities at Davenport Landing have been found. In 1905, an east coast businessman named William Dingee bought the Santa Cruz Lime Company, which had a lime quarry on the banks of San Vicente Creek , south of Davenport Landing. In
400-508: The local cement factory in 1914. The Church is the subject of a famous photograph by Ansel Adams . The southern portion of the Ocean Shore Railroad operated between Davenport and Santa Cruz from 1907 to 1920. The Southern Pacific freight line between the two communities is still in place. It lies at 37°00′42″N 122°11′27″W / 37.011667°N 122.190833°W / 37.011667; -122.190833 . According to
425-579: The only school in the Pacific Elementary School District . The ZIP Code is 95017 and the community is inside area code 831 . Davenport is home to American Abalone, which produces farm-raised California red abalone. No tours are offered. California farm-raised abalone has been selected by the Monterey Bay Aquarium 's Sea Watch program as an excellent choice for environmentally conscious seafood consumers. The cement plant
450-625: The population) lived in households, 59 (14.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 123 households, out of which 36 (29.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 51 (41.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 16 (13.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 11 (8.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 15 (12.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 3 (2.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 30 households (24.4%) were made up of individuals, and 13 (10.6%) had someone living alone who
475-659: The port and was known as Davenport Landing. The local post office began operations in 1874, but was known only as Davenport. Agua Puerca Creek lived up to its name by bringing down so much mud that the port filled up and steamers could not tie up to the wharf to load lumber. A small extension did not solve the problem. Then a competitor built a longer wharf, but it was destroyed in a storm. Captain Davenport went bankrupt and moved to Santa Cruz. The post office in Davenport Landing closed in 1889. When Captain Davenport went bankrupt, his assets were auctioned off to pay creditors. Among
500-478: The summer. The 2010 United States Census reported that Davenport had a population of 408. The population density was 143.4 inhabitants per square mile (55.4/km ). The racial makeup of Davenport was 272 (66.7%) White , 6 (1.5%) African American , 5 (1.2%) Native American , 12 (2.9%) Asian , 82 (20.1%) from other races , and 31 (7.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 172 persons (42.2%). The Census reported that 349 people (85.5% of
525-542: Was 388. Davenport lies along the coast of the Pacific Ocean , situated about 9 miles north of Santa Cruz , on Highway One . Originally on the banks of San Vicente Creek , the town expanded to the north during the twentieth century. The town is presently noted for the spectacular cliffs and bluffs above the Pacific, beaches in between cliffs, surfing opportunities, the cement plant run by Cemex (shuttered in January 2010), and
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#1732854806500550-557: Was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.9 males. There were 139 housing units at an average density of 48.9 per square mile (18.9/km ), of which 56.1% were owner-occupied and 43.9% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 1.8%. 49.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 36.0% lived in rental housing units. San Vicente Creek (Santa Cruz County) San Vicente Creek (Spanish for "St. Vincent")
575-404: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84. There were 78 families (63.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.36. The population was spread out, with 79 people (19.4%) under the age of 18, 41 people (10.0%) aged 18 to 24, 115 people (28.2%) aged 25 to 44, 132 people (32.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 41 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
600-431: Was built in 1906 and operated as the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company. In subsequent years, it was operated by Pacific Cement and Aggregates (1956), Lone Star Cement Corporation (1965), and RMC Pacific Materials (1998). In 2005, the plant was acquired by Mexico's CEMEX corporation. That same year, the plant was reported to have emitted 100 pounds of mercury . The presence of high levels of chromium-6 , purported to be
625-467: Was redirected through a tunnel blasted into the rock adjacent to its former course. Prior to this San Vicente had been the premiere trout fishing stream in the county, so the fill caused some outrage in the local papers. A 1906 editorial in the Santa Cruz Surf at the time said: "The San Vicente Creek, beloved of the angler and the artist, has its mouth stopped by a vast dyke, and its throat choked into
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