What it will take for the San Lorenzo Valley to be re-populated

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (KION) Thursday afternoon cars poured back into the city of Scotts Valley and the surrounding unincorporated area as soon as the evacuation order was lifted.

“It feels good. We were anxious, but we knew as soon as they could get us back in they would,” Scotts Valley resident Joe Farmer said.

The check point road closure has now moved up Mt. Hermon road. In the San Lorenzo Valley there is still much more work to be done by firefighters and other emergency crews before residents can come home.

Up Felton Empire road, Thursday, fire crews continue building fire breaks. They are taking full advantage of the controlled burns to stop fire from seeping towards homes in Felton.

“We’ve got a good line around about three quarters of it and we’re continuing to put line up the Highway 9 corridor and the communities of Ben Lomond and boulder creek,” Cal Fire Chief Mark Brunton said.

As containment slowly grows, there are still many hazards in the charred mountain areas. There are burned trees still falling across roadways, power lines down and even melted asphalt that's destroyed roads.

“There are a lot of household items that are used within our homes that can be contaminating the area around, so they may need to clean up that site a bit,” Cal Fire CZU chief Ian Larkin said.

PG&E crews have began restoring power and tree cleanup is happening around the San Lorenzo Valley.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said areas that have burned are still at least a week or more away from being re-populated.

Damage inspection teams have made it through 65% of the fire area, as of Thursday night. 735 buildings are confirmed destroyed in Santa Cruz County.

The Sheriff's Office says even when more re-population continues they will keep a heavy law enforcement presence to avoid any looting.