Another fire broke out in the Santa Cruz area. This fire started near Trabing rd, where it burned several buildings, and it is now burning around Watsonville and Larkin Valley. I was also in close vicinity to the Bonny Doon wildfire when it started. My friend and I had to evacuate and he was not able to return to his house for several days. Yet another wildfire and another mandatory evacuation. Apparently somebody was seen starting spot fires in the afternoon. Hopefully, the firefighters were notified early enough to contain this blaze. Freedom Blvd is jammed with bumper to bumper traffic as people have been forced to leave their homes.
I walked outside around 4:00 PM and could see the smoke rising over the ridge. Ominous black smoke. I rode my bike down a back road with a friend of mine to get a closer view. We were able to see the smoke rising up from behind several houses and there was a helicopter dipping into a pond nearby to douse the flames. I took some video footage of the fire and will be posting that soon. They have cut the power at my house and the cops just stopped by to let us know that there is a mandatory evacuation. I’m currently on my laptop with my cell phone tethered for internet. As I look over the ridge near my house the smoke seems to be clearing. The fire is probably heading in the Watsonville direction at this point. I’ll be posting the videos of the fire as soon as possible.
Trabing, Watsonville Fire Video
Here is some video footage of the Trabing fire that spread to Larkin Valley and is still burning in the Watsonville area. You can see the white smoke rising just behind some of the houses. Thirty minutes before I rode my bike to this ridge and shot the footage, the flames could be seen rising above the trees behind the houses. Thanks to the swift response of the firefighters who put a damper on the blaze with helicopter drops, these houses were saved. The fire in Trabing burned more than nine houses and over 2000 people have been evacuated. Watsonville was not in imminent danger and the fire is fifty percent contained at this point. I packed up my important belongings and left the area, not wanting to risk waking up to a house in flames. It is looking hopeful that people will be able to return to their homes on Saturday. Many thanks to the firefighters who are working hard to stop the fire.
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