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By Hannah Hagemann hhagemann@santacruzsenti- nel.com BOULDER CREEK » As Boul- der Creek residents rebuilt their lives in the aftermath of the CZU Lighting Com- plex fire, inconsistent ac- cess to clean drinking water continued to plague prog- ress in 2021. Big Basin Wa- ter Co. customers endured multiple water outages, ac- companied by weeks-long boil water orders amidst reconstructing their lives, homes and businesses. The company itself has continued to struggle in re- covering from substantial fire damage. The purveyor lost the majority of its infra- structure in the fire, includ- ing its water filter plant. Big Basin's office — along with its paper records — burned in the fire. The Sentinel documented that customers were with- out clean water for months after the CZU fire. Boil wa- ter orders persisted for some until January of 2021. But the problems didn't stop there. The purveyor has been supply ing roughly 500 rem a i n i n g hou sehold s with water from a singu- lar well. A well that pre- viously served only as a backup during dry sum- mer months. Ratepayers also went through another shutoff and boil water order in June. In October alone, customers saw three water outages and two boil wa- ter orders, which lasted a week to two weeks. Sepa- rately, some residents have repor ted taps r unning brown. Jim Moore told the Sentinel in November that he and his wife had stopped taking salaries, to keep the business running. "We are totally depen- dent on water for our daily lives and Big Basin is failing us," said customer Daniela Apostol in October. Throughout the year, Apostol and others reported challenges gett ing basic in- formation on critical issues such as shutoffs or boil wa- ter notices. "All of the information that we get is just through word of mouth from our neighbor, or postings on Facebook, but a lot of peo- ple like myself don't have a Facebook account," said customer John Armstrong in October. In the fall, the company contracted with an state- wide calling center that res- idents said has frequently not had answers to their questions. "It's like prying open a safe with a crowbar, you just have to scratch away to try and get information," Armstrong said. In at least two instances, residents waited days be- fore receiving notice that boiling water would be nec- essary. "We need accountability and transparency," said cus- tomer Jen Parks. "If there are sanitation issues in- volved, it's a healt h and life hazard." W hen a water system loses pressure, Jennifer Clary, California director of Clean Water Action, ex- plained in November, bacte- ria such as E.coli can leech into the water supply. "Because E.coli is a bacte- ria, a single use can create illness, particularly in vul- nerable populations," Clary said. "That's why you issue a boil water order. It's ex- CZU LIGHTNING COMPLEX FIRE Big Basin Water customers endure with unreliable drinking water Over the course of the year ratepayers went through multiple long-lasting water outages and boil water orders By Hannah Hagemann hhagemann@santacruzsenti- nel.com FELTON » Residents in the Santa Cr uz Mountains continued to feel local im- pacts from a changing cli- mate in 2021, as the oscilla- tion between wildfires and storms meant thousands faced evacuations through- out the year. In January, more than 20 wildfires ignited across Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. Dozens of Boul- der Creek residents, some of which were still reel- ing from the historic CZU Lightning Complex fire, had to flee their homes. Like residents still weary from the impacts of the CZU fire, firefighters too were stretched thin, said then-Cal Fire CZU San Ma- teo — Santa Cruz Unit Chief Ian Larkin. " T here's def initely a change occurring in the cli- mate," Larkin said amidst the January fires. "That is having some type of effect here where w e're not get- ting the type of rain we used to get and we're get- ting hotter and drier win- ters." The level of response re- quired to fight those winter blazes — likely ignited by embers from the CZU Com- plex transported by wind — was unanticipated. "I can honestly say that no we weren't prepared for this to happen in January, when normally it's raining," Larkin said. Penny Kleinhaus had to evacuate her Aptos Hills home as a result of the Free- dom Fire — one of those dozen wildfires. "We've been living in the Santa Cruz area for a long time, we're just reflecting on 'geez we didn't think too much about fire danger when we picked the house.' We love the place," Klein- haus said in January. Just days after firefight- ers began to contain those wildfires dotted throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, an atmosph eric river storm prompted officials to evac- uate thousands for fear the rain could set loose debris flows — fast-moving slur- ries of rock, soil and sedi- ment carried in water that can turn dangerous. Many CZU Complex fire survivors were once again forced to evacuate on Jan. 25, though many chose not to. Elisha McKeown, who's home suffered damage in the CZU Complex fire said in January the constant evacuations were taking a toll. "It's just kind of like a slap in the face," McKe- own said. "It's one thing af- ter another, what's going to happen after the debris flows, are we going to have another major fire?" An eerily similar series of events played out in Oc- tober. A prescribed burn lit off by Cal Fire crews escaped control, amassing into a wildfire in southeastern SANTA CRUZ COUNTY Residents face more fires, storms and evacuations Community and firefighters alike said they are fatigued Flooding in Rio Del Mar on January 26. PHOTOS BY SHMUEL THALER - SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL The Estrada Fire rages in steep terrain between Hazel Dell Road and Summit Road in Corralitos October 16. FIRES » PAGE 6 WATER » PAGE 6 RITES O F P ASSAGE C S t r e c n o d e r o s n o p : y b R h p l a & D A e e n n B f f o r o R A r e g o n o s r e d n & M a n r y B n o t t i r C m o S r e s o p d e r o s n o p : y b N e i l a t a G & t n a r D d i v a n o t l u F 7:30pm 2:00pm SantaCruzSymphony.org 925 41st Ave Santa Cruz 831-346-6170 www.ironhorsehome.com Mon-Tuesday Closed | Wed-Sat 11-6 • Sunday 11-4 Limited Time Only: Oct. 11-28, 2019 Take a chance and unwind. You've earned it. The world takes a lot out of you. Is it possible that your home seating could help restore you? 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