Last updated: July 2025
Wildfire is a perennial risk in Santa Cruz County. Authorities advise all county residents, not just in the mountains, to prepare for wildfire in these four ways.
1. Get informed. Register with Santa Cruz County’s emergency notification system CruzAware to receive texts, emails or calls about emergencies and evacuations.
2. Get prepared. Create a go-bag and evacuation plan. In case cellphone service goes down, consider having a landline phone, walkie talkies, two-way radio or other backup communications.
3. Get your home ready. Create defensible space by moving flammable material away from homes. Urban residents should prioritize removing flammable items including wooden fences, within five feet of their home. Harden homes to be more fire-resistant. Potential upgrades include fire-rated roofs, dual- or multi-paned windows and metal chimney screens.
4. Get involved. Join or create a neighborhood Firewise community to coordinate on fuel reduction and emergency preparedness. See local groups and learn more by emailing [email protected].
Emergency notifications
- Police in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville and Scotts Valley and some fire departments send Nixle text alerts to registrants during emergencies.
- UC Santa Cruz students, faculty and staff can receive emergency alerts from campus officials in its SlugSafe system.
- The County of Santa Cruz’s CruzAware system sends emergency, weather and evacuation notices.
Track fires, weather, evacuations
- County authorities asked residents to know your evacuation zone and monitor whether there is an evacuation warning or evacuation order for that zone.
- The Cal Fire incident report website has updates on fires and evacuations. Other websites or apps may not have up-to-date or verified information, according to Cal Fire officials.
- Watch Duty is a cellphone app operated by a nonprofit that includes maps of fires, wind velocity, evacuation zones and air quality.
- The Smoke Spotter app from the California Air Resources Board has maps of prescribed burns and smoke forecasts.
- A National Weather Service map includes areas with fire weather warnings.
Emergency preparedness
- Prepared, Not Scared checklist from the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County.
- Prepare Your Family resource guide from Cal Fire. Includes strategies for seniors, people with disabilities, and parents of young children.
Home hardening
- Home Hardening information from the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County.
- Hardening your home guide from Cal Fire.
Defensible space and fuel reduction
- Permits to burn backyard brush or conduct a prescribed burn from the Monterey Bay Area Resources District.
- Free chipping programs from the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County.
- Chipping guide from the Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council.
- Local Firewise groups may also have a chipping or brush removal program. See a map of local Firewise groups.
- Defensible Space information from the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County.
- How to create defensible space from Cal Fire.
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