Central Coast Wildfires Archives

How San Lorenzo Valley Water District is recovering from the CZU Complex fire

July 7, 2021 11:37 AM Erika Bratten

The Lyon Treatment plant and the HDPE pipeline were heavily damaged by the CZU Complex fire nearly a year ago, along with the San Valley Water…

Nonprofit: Regrowth spotted in redwood forest at Big Basin

July 6, 2021 2:50 PM Avery Johnson

The Save the Redwoods League shared a photo on Twitter showing signs of hope in Santa Cruz…

This tree was still burning from the lightning strike that caused the CZU Lightning Complex Fire 10 months ago

July 1, 2021 1:12 PM Melody Waintal

Almost a year since the CZU Lightening Complex Fire was contained, Cal Fire found a tree in Big Basin Redwoods State Park still smoldering.…

Brush fire burning near King City in river bed

June 27, 2021 6:16 PM Taryn Mitchell, Carina Nocon

KING CITY, Calif. (KION) A fire is burning in the Salinas River bed near Jolon Road and Highway 101…

Fire breaks out in Los Gatos shed Sunday afternoon

June 27, 2021 4:45 PM Amelia Rosenberg

A fire broke out in a shed off of Rancho Prieta Road Sunday before spreading into some nearby…

Report: Supervisors did not adequately address CZU Lightning Complex victim concerns, hold Cal Fire accountable

June 25, 2021 12:21 PM Avery Johnson

The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury has released a report after investigating how the county government responded to the needs and concerns of the…

Residents return home after some Willow Fire evacuation warnings lifted

June 24, 2021 7:59 PM Josh Kristianto

ARROYO SECO, Calif. (KION) Some residents impacted by the Willow Fire and evacuation orders got a chance to return to their homes when the orders…

CalFire: Vegetation fire burning off Panoche Road in San Benito County fully contained

June 23, 2021 2:20 PM Victor Guzman

CalFire units are on scene of a vegetation fire burning off Panoche Road in San Benito County.…

Fire crew’s release their game plan to fighting the Willow Fire

June 21, 2021 10:51 AM Jonathan Sarabia

Fire crews discussed today’s fight to put out the Willow Fire at 7 a.m. in an operational briefing in the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds in King City.…

Arroyo Seco neighbor welcomes firefighters to her home

June 22, 2021 12:01 PM Jonathan Sarabia

Arroyo Seco neighbor, Erin Melchior welcomed fire trucks and helicopters to the field behind her home. The firefighters were fighting the Willow Fire…

USFS, Cal Fire face another day of battling Willow Fire with zero percent containment

June 19, 2021 11:16 AM Stephanie Aceves, Josh Kristianto

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) As the Willow Fire burns to over 2,000 acres, firefighters with Cal Fire and the US Forest Service are trying to get…

Willow Fire evacuation point opens in Carmel Valley

June 19, 2021 9:55 AM Avery Johnson

The Monterey County Free Library’s Carmel Valley Branch has opened up as an evacuation point for Willow Fire…

Gallery: The Willow Fire in pictures and video

June 18, 2021 4:57 PM Avery Johnson

Click through the gallery to see pictures and video of the Willow Fire burning in southern Monterey…

Willow Fire burns in Los Padres National Forest

June 18, 2021 3:56 AM Taryn Mitchell, Carina Nocon

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION)- An emerging wildfire has broken out in the Los Padres National Forest Thursday evening. The ‘Willow Fire’ is burning…

New California Wildfire Dashboard shows real-time fire data

June 17, 2021 2:43 PM Avery Johnson

The Bureau of Land Management has a new tool for tracking California wildfires just in time for fire…

Heat wave keeping PG&E, local residents on alert Wednesday

June 16, 2021 6:34 PM Josh Kristianto

PRUNEDALE, Calif. (KION) California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO), the agency in charge of overseeing the state’s entire electrical grid, has…

Monterey County brings goats to Jack Peaks Park to prevent wildfires

June 11, 2021 11:36 AM Melody Waintal

They’re baaaaack. Monterey County Public Works brought 600 goats Friday morning to eat their way through any thick vegetation in Jack Peak Park that…

Report: California encourages rebuilding in fire-prone areas

June 10, 2021 2:43 PM The Associated Press, Avery Johnson

California state and local officials are encouraging rebuilding in areas destroyed by wildfires at a time when people should be redirected away from…

Cal Fire lifts additional evacuation advisories in areas affected by CZU Lightning Complex fires

June 9, 2021 6:17 PM Avery Johnson

Cal Fire announced that it has lifted some of the evacuation advisories in parts of Santa Cruz and San Mateo…

State Senators call on Air Force to expedite retrofitting planes to fight California wildfires

June 9, 2021 12:03 PM Avery Johnson

Sen. Dianne Feinstein shared a letter Wednesday calling on the Air Force to expedite the process of retrofitting and transferring seven C-130 planes…

Grass fire prompts evacuations at Beale Air Force Base

June 8, 2021 5:21 PM Avery Johnson

A grass fire in Wheatland has prompted evacuations at Beale Air Force Base, according to the CBS affiliate in…

Fire officials ask community for help restoring burn areas

June 8, 2021 11:33 AM Jocelyn Ortega

As summer and Fourth of July celebrations approach, fire officials are spotting flares and potential fire dangers along mountainous Santa Cruz County…

Vegetation fire on River Road

June 6, 2021 12:11 PM Amelia Rosenberg

A vegetation fire is currently burning on River…

Fire leads to road closure in King City

June 1, 2021 7:51 PM Aaron Groff

KING CITY, Calif. (KION-TV) A fire outside of King City Tuesday night is now 100 percent contained, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie.…

Monterey Fire to begin conducting fire safety inspections

June 1, 2021 7:24 AM Carina Nocon

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Monterey County Fire Department will start fire safety inspections on June 1, 2021 as the state prepares for…

Firefighters contain Santa Cruz Grade Fire

May 31, 2021 5:47 PM Jonathan Sarabia

The Grade Fire in Santa Cruz County was contained after firefighters and resources were quickly sent out to prevent this fire from expanding.…

Portions of Los Padres National Forest damaged by Dolan Fire set to reopen this weekend

May 28, 2021 3:37 PM Avery Johnson

The Dolan Fire burned nearly 125,000 acres of Los Padres National Forest last year, and it led to closures in areas affected by the…

California lawmakers push 10 bills to fight wildfire risks

May 27, 2021 3:08 PM The Associated Press

Democrats who control the state Senate said Thursday they intend to advance a 10-bill package to the Assembly in the next week…

PG&E to pay $43.4M in 3 counties burned by its fraying grid

May 26, 2021 2:36 PM The Associated Press

Pacific Gas & Electric will pay $43.4 million to government agencies in three Northern California counties to cover bills left behind from wildfires…

Grim western fire season starts much drier than record 2020

May 24, 2021 11:52 AM The Associated Press

As bad as last year’s record-shattering fire season was, the western U.S. starts this year’s in even worse…

Loma Fire in Santa Barbara prompts evacuations, including KION sister station

May 21, 2021 7:23 AM Carina Nocon, Avery Johnson

A fire broke out on TV Hill in Santa Barbara Thursday night around 9 p.m., prompting evacuations for surrounding areas and for KION’s sister station…

Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey awarded contract to help wildfire survivors

May 19, 2021 11:00 AM Avery Johnson

The Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey said it has been awarded with a contract to help support local wildfire…

Monterey approves purchase of new fire engine ahead of wildfire season

May 17, 2021 2:02 PM Avery Johnson

The Monterey City Council announced that it has approved the purchase of a new wildland fire engine ahead of what is projected to be a busy wildfire…

Suspect arrested in connection to fire near Los Angeles

May 17, 2021 11:03 AM Avery Johnson

KION’s sister station in Los Angeles reports that a suspect has been arrested in connection with a fire threatening the Topanga and Pacific Palisades…

Portion of Big Basin Redwoods State Park to reopen Memorial Day Weekend

May 13, 2021 2:18 PM Avery Johnson

A portion of Big Basin Redwoods State Park are set to reopen on a limited basis over Memorial Day…

Cal Fire suspends burn permits in Monterey and San Benito Counties

May 10, 2021 7:04 AM Carina Nocon

MONTEREY, SAN BENITO COUNTY Calif. (KION) Cal Fire is suspending all burn permits for outdoor residential burning in Monterey and San Benito…

California fire victims see little payout from settlement

May 6, 2021 2:43 PM The Associated Press

A trust approved by a federal judge to help compensate victims of deadly California wildfires sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric…

Chews Ridge lookout tower volunteers return as citizen smoke watchers

May 4, 2021 9:44 PM Dominoe Ibarra

CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. (KION) The U.S. Forest Service with the Los Padres National Forest says volunteers for the Chews Ridge lookout tower will be…

US judge weighs if PG&E violated probation with 2019 fire

May 4, 2021 6:05 PM The Associated Press

A federal judge is weighing whether Pacific Gas & Electric violated its criminal probation by sparking a wildfire north of San Francisco that…

CAL FIRE requiring permit for backyard burns in Santa Cruz County

May 2, 2021 10:45 AM Amelia Rosenberg

Residents will now need a permit from CAL FIRE in order to conduct residential burns of landscape debris such as branches and leaves.…

California man held for allegedly starting deadly wildfire

April 29, 2021 11:31 AM The Associated Press

A man charged with killing a woman in Northern California was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of setting a fire to cover up the crime that spread and…

Woman arrested in connection to Boulder Creek fires

April 17, 2021 4:49 PM Amelia Rosenberg

A woman has be arrested in connected to two fires that started earlier this…

California targets urgent projects as wildfire season looms

April 13, 2021 4:13 PM The Associated Press

California is in such an urgent race with another devastating wildfire season that officials began soliciting local project…

California to provide $536 million in funding for wildfire mitigation, forest management

April 9, 2021 11:15 AM Jocelyn Ortega

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Thursday that the state is authorizing $536 million in funding for…

Newsom discusses preparation for wildfire season

April 8, 2021 12:43 PM Avery Johnson

Gov. Gavin Newsom is in Fresno County touring wildfire preparedness work underway as crews prepare for wildfire…

Reforestation efforts to begin in Santa Cruz Mountains following CZU Lightning Complex fire

April 7, 2021 2:17 PM Victor Guzman

Redwood seedlings are in high demand as Cal Fire CZU, along with local landowners in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, attempt to revive the…

Dry vegetation raises fire concerns in Santa Cruz County

April 6, 2021 12:00 PM Jocelyn Ortega

Vegetation flammability across Northern California is near record levels for early April and is approaching mid-summer levels in some areas,…

CAL FIRE CZU responds to several early spring wildfires

April 5, 2021 7:55 PM Dominoe Ibarra

FELTON, Calif. (KION) Cal Fire CZU says their crews have already responded to and contained 5 wildfires within the unit since March 31, 2021, which…

Forward progress stopped on Boulder Creek vegetation fire

April 3, 2021 12:19 PM Elisha Machado

Fire crews are battling a two-acre vegetation fire near Deer Creek Road in Boulder Creek, according to the Boulder Creek Volunteer Fire…

California expands property tax benefits for seniors, wildfire victims

April 2, 2021 3:48 PM Avery Johnson

State officials announced that seniors, severely disabled residents and victims of wildfires or other natural disasters have expanded property tax…