Some buildings reopen at UC Santa Cruz following lifted evacuation orders
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION)
UPDATE 9/3/2020 1 p.m. UC Santa Cruz announced that it is reopening more buildings following closures due to wildfire evacuations.
These buildings have been cleared to reopen:
- Astronomy Labs A&B
- Barn H
- Biomedical Building
- Communications Building
- Cowell Dining Facility (meal preparation for county and evacuees only)
- College 9/10 Dining (specific information shared by campus dining)
- Crown Dining (specific information shared by campus dining)
- Early Education Services
- Employee housing at Laureate Court, Hagar Court, Ranch View Terrace, Hagar Meadow and Cardiff Terrace
- Engineering 2
- Earth and Marine Sciences
- Jack Baskin Engineering Building
- McHenry Library (instructional online education only)
- Molecular Diagnostic Lab for COVID-19 testing
- Natural Sciences II
- Physical Sciences Building
- Provost Houses
- Science and Engineering Library (instructional online education only)
- Sinsheimer Laboratories
- Social Sciences I and II
- Student Health Services
- Thimann
- Coastal Science Campus
- Westside Research Park
All other buildings are still closed
PREVIOUS STORY: Several buildings are reopening at UC Santa Cruz 11 days after they were initially evacuated due to the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires burning in the county.
Chancellor Cynthia Larive said in a statement that the Campus Fire Marshal, Environmental Health and Safety and the Physical Plant worked over the weekend to assess systems and clean facilities before they reopened.
These buildings are reopening effective immediately:
- Barn H
- Biomedical Building
- Coastal Science Campus
- Communications Building
- Cowell Dining Facility (meal preparation for county and evacuees only)
- Early Education Services
- Employee housing at Laureate Court, Hagar Court, Ranch View Terrace, Hagar Meadow and Cardiff Terrace
- Engineering 2
- Earth and Marine Sciences
- Jack Baskin Engineering Building
- Molecular Diagnostic Lab for COVID-19 testing and Sinsheimer Laboratories
- Natural Sciences II
- Physical Sciences Building Provost Houses
- Student Health Services
- Thimann
- Westside Research Park
All other buildings are closed until they are cleared. Everyone is asked to not try to enter closed buildings.
The university is still working to prepare residential areas, but said the Family Student Housing gets power from a different grid and is still without electricity.
Larive said there may still be a smell of smoke in some of the buildings and reminds everyone that there is more wildlife on campus, so drivers should be cautious on roads.
METRO can also re-start operations Monday, and schedules will be posted when they are verified. Campus Transit will re-start Tuesday.
The university said the fire is still about a mile north of upper campus, but Cal Fire has established fire lines to prevent the fire from spreading to the campus and Santa Cruz. University officials said they are continuing to monitor the situation.
