August 2020

As of this morning, the fire is about a mile north of upper campus. There is no fire activity on campus or in the City of Santa Cruz, and we hope that all our activities have been taken in an abundance of caution.

As the members of our Slug community continue to deal with the wildfires and evacuations, we want to outline some of the resources available to you.

Based on the chancellor’s emergency declaration, ALL employees and students living in campus housing must evacuate. Everyone must immediately leave the UC Santa Cruz residential campus and be prepared to not return for at least two weeks. UC Santa Cruz Police Officers will be going door to door to evacuate those remaining on campus.

UC Santa Cruz is impacted by the wildfires burning in Santa Cruz County and elsewhere in Northern California. Residents of the mountain communities surrounding UC Santa Cruz have been forced to evacuate their homes in the face of the fast-moving Lightning Complex Fire ignited a few days ago by a dry lightning storm.

This is not an evacuation order, but rather a warning to be prepared to evacuate.

As the conditions around Santa Cruz county worsen and the fires impacting our region continue to grow, we are now initiating several critical steps in our fire response.

I am now directing that all non-essential research operations at all Santa Cruz locations cease immediately. Please shut down all equipment as you would normally do for winter curtailment, secure chemicals in fire-safe storage, and secure lab notebooks and other irreplaceable items if possible.

We understand the stress that many of you may be experiencing; the addition of the fires on top of an already difficult year has been a challenge. Please know that we want to support you as you navigate these difficult times.

Today my heart is with all the members of our community for the challenges we face together. At this moment I am especially concerned for those impacted by the wildfires burning in Santa Cruz County and elsewhere in Northern California.

While instruction in summer classes continues, we understand the fear and disturbance that sudden evacuations can cause. We encourage everyone to be flexible as you consider how to continue instruction in these challenging times