A wildfire about a mile north of the University of California, Santa Cruz campus forced nearly 1,200 residents to evacuate. The university has set up an evacuation center at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, about four miles south from the campus. Evacuated students should be prepared to not return for at least two weeks, the university said in a tweet.
“Anyone not authorized to enter or remain at any of these facilities is subject to arrest and/or emergency suspension, until such time this declaration is rescinded,” said a declaration issued by university Chancellor Cynthia Larive.
Anyone entering the residential campus after being ordered to evacuate may be found guilty of a criminal offense and 911 should only be used for “true emergencies,” the declaration continued.
Update:
✔️ Fire has impacted approx. 57,000 acres involved
✔️ Now at 2% containment. Thank you fire crews!!
✔️Fire remains about a mile north of campus. ✔️@CALFIRECZU are establishing fire lines to try and slow the spread toward the campus and SC.https://t.co/AbCAi2nQIm pic.twitter.com/ENIjaTvNnL— UC Santa Cruz (@ucsc) August 22, 2020
Santa Cruz county created a real-time evacuation map to provide the latest updates.
Firefighters are aggressively suppressing the fire. Continued dry and hot weather is forecast for the week, and include a fire weather watch for dry lightning and dangerous winds. There is also limited visibility due to smoke.
Approximately 77,000 people in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties have been evacuated.