In today's newscast:
Timber Fire update
The Big Sur Timber Fire has grown significantly. It’s now more than 12,616 acres and 25% contained. No structures have been damaged, but more evacuations were ordered Sunday. The latest information is here.
Rebuilding after the 2020 CZU fire
It’s now been six years since the CZU Lightning Complex fires destroyed hundreds of homes. One homeowner and many volunteers are celebrating the first home rebuilt with help from the Long Term Recovery Group of Santa Cruz County.
Executive director Tonje Switzer helped create the nonprofit.
"This is not done in a vacuum," she said. "It takes a community, and this is a testament to the community that it takes to recover."
More about the home recently completed here.
Rental Assistance Program
Santa Cruz and Monterey counties saw increases this year in the number of people who lost housing for the first time. The City of Santa Cruz is trying to fix that.
Larry Imwalle, the director of homelessness response, says short-term rental assistance prevents evictions. The city used $340,000 from a state grant to help people catch up on late rent. Or, for those who very recently lost housing, to put down a deposit and first month’s rent.
"For those households that received eviction prevention support," he said, "the average amount of financial assistance was $2,780 per household."
In contrast, he says getting people experiencing homelessness back into housing can run tens of thousands of dollars per year per person.
And, Imwalle says three months after receiving the help, 96% of the rental assistance households were still in stable housing.
