Cal Fire reported 60% containment on the Hihn Fire, near Gazos Creek and North Escape roads in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, with the blaze at 3.41 acres in an update around 6:15 p.m. Monday. Earlier in the day, firefighters contained the Grade Fire fire, which grew to 7.5 acres near China Grade Road.
Mallory Pickett
Follow Mallory Pickett on: Twitter. Mallory brings deep expertise in environmental issues to Lookout, as well as national reporting experience that she will now apply in her hometown of Santa Cruz. She began her career as a chemist, studying ocean acidification at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, before being drawn to journalism.As a freelance journalist she’s written about science, the environment, and politics for a variety of publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Wired, and Slate. Her work has been included in several anthologies, including “What Future,” in 2017, and “The Craft of Science Writing,” in 2020. Her investigation into gender discrimination at a research institute in San Diego was included as a notable work in the “Best Science and Nature Writing of 2019.”“I care passionately about the well-being of the people and the environment of Santa Cruz County,” she says. “I can think of no better way to contribute to my hometown than to provide rigorous coverage of the parks, ocean, and farmlands that make this place so special.”
Posted inEnvironment
Santa Cruz’s ‘Fire Followers’ document phoenix-like flowers rising from ashes of CZU blaze
Citizen scientists are helping the professionals track what’s growing in areas ravaged by last year’s conflagration — and, naturalists hope, gaining some understanding of fire’s important role in a forest’s life cycle.
Posted inLatest News
‘Stranger than fiction’: Unrelated blazes engulf RVs in Felton 15 minutes apart; injuries, spread averted
Firefighters doused two fires reported within 15 minutes of each other Tuesday night and kept spread to a minimum in a Santa Cruz Mountains community on alert for wildfire danger.
Posted inEnvironment
Craving fresh salmon? They’re coming in by the boatload at Santa Cruz harbor
The salmon fishery is very carefully managed and is only open in certain areas for certain weeks during the summer. So far, only Monterey Bay has opened—first for May 1-12, and now May 20-27. Fishing boats from all over are now congregating in Monterey Bay and offloading their catch in Santa Cruz.
Posted inCOVID 2022
Santa Cruz County remains among state’s best in COVID-19 case numbers
With just 1.3 confirmed COVID cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate of 0.5%, Santa Cruz County is among the top 10 counties in California in those metrics, according to state data released Tuesday.
Posted inCOVID 2022
‘I was absolutely shocked’: Dr. Gail Newel on Newsom’s refusal to fund public health departments
Santa Cruz County’s top health official said it was “disheartening” that even with a projected $76 billion surplus, Gov. Gavin Newsom nixed a $200 million request to boost local agencies that have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posted inEnvironment
A Santa Cruz County drought conditions update: How are water restrictions affecting you?
Use the interactive map to see where your water comes from and learn about water restrictions in your area.
Posted inEnvironment
Changing of the environmental guard: Santa Cruz anti-plastics crusaders hand keys over to the next wave
Tim Goncharoff of the county zero waste program and Katherine O’Dea of Save Our Shores, longtime allies in a fight against single-use plastics that has affected policy well beyond Santa Cruz, are both moving on to the next chapter.
Posted inCoast Life
The gateway to the Cement Ship is back — at least part of it. Here’s what we know about the weather-worn pier
Closed for about a year while state parks assessed storm damage, the pier leading to the SS Palo Alto at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos has been deemed safe and is once again accessible to pleased locals.
Posted inCOVID Today
Third time’s a charm: Santa Cruz County moves into yellow tier, loosening up restrictions on many businesses
After twice just missing out on a move from orange into yellow, Santa Cruz County got the nod finally on Tuesday and will officially join the yellow tier ranks one day from now.