Voluntary evacuations underway at UC Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Voluntary evaucations are underway at UC Santa Cruz, according to school officials.

At this point, evacuations are not mandatory, but if they become mandatory, the school will declare a campus emergency.

Those living on campus are asked to find a safe place to go out of the area to reduce the number of people on campus and decrease pressure on the roadways.

For those who do not have a place to go, the university has a staging area at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Starting at 2 p.m., people with nowhere to go can start going there. The check in is at Entrance B across from the parking lot. Campus officials will tell you where to go.

Those heading to the boardwalk are asked to bring a university ID or another form of identification.

The university said that county and fire officials say those who evacuate may not be able to return to their homes until the end of August or early September.

University officials said they will begin shutting down campus systems in preparation for the possibility of a fire. They will begin powering down the Cogeneration plant, shutting down natural gas, close doors that are part of fire and smoke barriers in buildings and minimizing the electrical load.

Thousands of people in Santa Cruz County have been evacuated from their homes due to the CZU Lightning Complex Fires. Areas under mandatory evacuations are in close proximity to UC Santa Cruz.