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

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury has released a report after investigating how the county government responded to the needs and concerns of the victims of the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.

The fire started when a dry lightning storm hit parts of California on Aug. 16, 2020. The lightning caused fires around the state, including the CZU Lightning Complex, the largest fire in county history. The fire burned through 63,754 acres and destroyed 1,431. More than 900 of the structures were homes.

One county resident, Tad Jones, died in the fire. The Grand Jury reports that he tried to leave when evacuation orders were issued, but the one-lane road he needed to use was already blocked by the fire. The Grand Jury said he went to a clearing where Cal Fire told residents to go in case of a fire, but when it appeared that nobody was coming, he tried to head toward Big Basin to get out. According to the report, no rescue vehicle ever made it to the clearing. Jones' body was found in his burnt-out car a few days later.

More than 70,000 people were evacuated due to the fire.

On Oct. 6, 2020, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to create the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience to help disaster victims, and the Grand Jury said there has been positive feedback about the program, but they found that nothing has been published about the performance of government leaders in holding Cal Fire accountable for its past actions and its readiness for future events.

The Grand Jury reported that it received complaints from residents who said they did not understand what went wrong in the situation and felt unheard by local leaders, so it began an investigation and released 7 findings.

The Grand Jury found that:

1. Residents are concerned about the response to the wildfire and preparation for future events. It also found that supervisors do not recognize that they are responsible for addressing community concerns.
2. There was a difference in content and depth of analysis between Cal Fire's Virtual Community Meeting presentations in San Mateo and Santa Cruz County.
3. Supervisors did not adequately respond to community concerns and questions.
4. Supervisors have not held Cal Fire accountable for its lack of analysis of its performance during the fire.
5. No provision currently exists in the contract between the county and Cal Fire to create after-action reports following the fire season.
6. Supervisor responses to the findings and recommendations in the 2020 "Ready? Aim? Fire!" report shows a lack of engagement with the material and lack of understanding of their role.
7. The adequacy of resources for future firefighting is questionable because of uncertain mutual aid assistance, deployment and management of volunteer companies and availability of funding.

The Grand Jury also released several recommendations for the Board of Supervisors:

1. Supervisors should conduct an investigation to challenge Cal Fire on their preparation for future fires, challenge the response to the CZU Lightning Complex and answer community questions and concerns in the next 30 days.
2. Supervisors should adopt a policy for handling and logging resident complaints and questions.
3. Supervisors should require after-action reports for all major Cal Fire incidents within the next 6 months.
4. Supervisors should instruct staff to create a lessons-learned document for the public outlining the investigation of Cal Fire and an action plan for future events and improved response in the next 90 days.
5. Supervisors should revisit responses to the 2020 "Ready? Aim? Fire!" report and rewrite their responses by Dec. 31 in a document posted on their website.
6. Supervisors should instruct staff to advocate for additional fire preparation funding and prevention resources from the state within 6 months.

It is not all bad news for those involved, however. The Grand Jury recognized and commended the bravery of the firefighters who risked their lives during the CZU Lightning Complex and said the Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience has done an excellent job of providing information and resources on its website and developed an excellent capability for expediting permitting and rebuilding.

Read the full Grand Jury report below.