Evacuees plead for help in Santa Cruz County

BONNY DOON, Calif. (KION)

Reporting by John Palminteri

"Swanton is gone, what a tragedy.  Last Chance is gone, and Cal Fire couldn't do anything because there are not enough people on the ground," said Bonny Doon resident Frans Lanting.

Emotions have been running hot in Bonny Doon in the Santa Cruz mountains. Displaced residents took a stand at a road block keeping them from their homes in the eye of a fierce fire.

The CZU Lightning Complex fires have burned more than 50,000 acres in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. At least 97 "structures" have been destroyed.

"We are here with an urgent plea to Governor Newson for more resources in the mountain communities above Santa Cruz," Lanting said Friday.

Another Bonny Doon resident, Kendra Turk-Kubo, says she lost her home.

"All we ask is that we commit as many resources as we can there are people. There are still a lot structures that can be saved.  We lost our home  it is completely burnt to the ground.  This fire is scary.  I think that one thing that we can do to protect Santa Cruz is get the resources here that we need."

Cal Fire's incident command team was asked about these concerns and frustrations during Friday's press conference and fire update, with the understanding that the residents respect the firefighters and understand resources are thin.

"(With) The number of fires throughout the state,  we are bringing in resources from outside the state. That should indicate how drawn down we are on resources," adding, "typically we would have 10 to 20 times the firefighters that we have on this fire," said Cal Fire Incident Commander Mark Brunton.

The front line fight continues where fire crews can take a stand.

Residents who have raced from their homes took some pictures of what they saw on their streets as they left not knowing how much if anything would still be standing when this is over.

"I thought I lost my worldly possessions when I tried to defend my property as long as I could and I ran out of water pressure, and long story short I drove through flames," Bonny Doon resident David Spencer said.

And already there are ongoing signs this will be a long haul to put this fire out and fix the burnt power lines and other infrastructure. 

The firefighters say that with so much smoke they are having a difficult time getting aircraft in to be effective. On the ground, they are battle tested with years of experience, but hope the weather calms down so they can build up vital containment lines.