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By Aric Sleeper asleeper@santacruzsentinel. com BOULDER CREEK » The past year has been one of re- covery and renewal for Big Basin Redwoods State Park after the devastation of the August 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned roughly 97%, or 18,000 acres of the park and destroyed nearly every structure, leaving charred f rames where histor ic buildings once stood. "Standing here today, looking at what we see, the devastation, the burns, it's hard not to feel like we've lost a very old and dear friend," said Sempervirens Fund Executive Director Sarah Barth to the Sentinel in the fall of 2020. "I know that that feeling is shared by millions of people. I say that because Sempervirens Fund has received an out- pouring of emotion from people literally around the globe — sharing their sto- ries, their poetry about Big Basin and asking how they can support recovery ef- forts." Recovery efforts were soon underway, but offi- cials knew it would take more than a year after the devastation before the pub- lic was welcome back into the park. This year began with a community meet- ing, which gave community members a chance to weigh in on the park's future after crews had made some head- way with park restoration. In May, park officials announced that Big Basin would reopen to the pub- lic in a limited capacity in the summer, but didn't know the exact grand and partial reopening until the end of June when they an- nounced that, after nearly two years, the park would reopen July 22. "Although it will take some time for redwoods in Big Basin to look red again, nature is healing, and it is remarkable that the pub- lic can now return and visit the park less than two years after the devastating CZU wildfire," said Barth in a statement from July. "In the earliest days, support- ers from around the world rallied to support Big Basin, and as the park reopens, we can create new memo- ries together in California's oldest state park." Services were and remain limited inside the park as there is no cellphone cover- age, running water, or elec- tricity. The July opening gave the public access to the Redwood Loop and about 18 miles of fire roads near Boulder Creek. The reopen- ing also introduced the res- ervation parking system de- veloped by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, which re- mains in place. In late December, Cal- ifornia State Parks an- nounced the reopening of four miles of newly reno- vated roads and trails in- side the fire-scarred park. "We are pushing to re- open fire-damaged trail segments in Big Basin as they are safely recon- structed and look forward to welcoming more visi- tors in 2023," said Califor- nia State Parks Superin- tendent Chris Spohrer in a statement. "These newly opened trails offer a novel window to witness the re- markable recovery of the ancient forest." Visitors now have ac- cess to portions of the Me- teor Trail, a mile segment of Skyline to the Sea Trail, and dog-friendly access along the first mile of North Es- cape Road. The expanded trail use also gives hikers access along a portion of Opal Creek and up Middle Ridge Road to Ocean View Summit. Trail crews continue to clear and renovate trail systems. The first mile of the Sunset Trail is cur- rently being reconstructed and is expected to open in January. "Big Basin is thriving and opening more trails is a great gift in a remarkable year of progress at Califor- nia's oldest state park," said Barth. "This milestone is a testament to the diligence and commitment of Califor- nia State Parks, partner or- ganizations, donors, volun- teers and the community supporting the park's fu- ture and the forest's recov- ery from wildfire." To view a map detailing trail access in the park, visit parks.ca.gov. BIG BASIN REDWOODS Park experiences year of growth By Aric Sleeper asleeper@santacruzsenti- nel.com SANTA CRUZ » While many ballot measures in this year's elections such as measures D, N and O, di- vided Santa Cruz voters figuratively, the passage of Measure E over the sum- mer divided them literally. The measure's passage came with a majority vote in the June election, with 11,490 voting for and 5,774 against the measure, and changed the city of Santa Cruz's charter so that the mayor is directly elected by city residents and serves a four-year term. The city was also split into six dis- tricts, with voters from each district voting on their own council members. The first election us- ing the district system oc- curred in November when Districts 4 and 6 were won by political newcomer and UC Santa Cruz lecturer Scott Newsome, and in- cumbent Renee Golder, re- spectively. If Measure E did not pass, the Santa Cruz City Council would have carved the city into seven geo- graphical districts, instead of six, and the mayor would have continued to be cho- sen internally each year. In either outcome, the mayor has no greater decision- making power than their peers, though the mayor continues to set the coun- cil agenda and run meet- ings, along with other cer- emonial duties. "I really see pros and cons to electing a four-year mayor," said Santa Cruz Mayor Sonja Brunner to the Sentinel in June. "The pro is that the city gets the stability of a leader work- ing with staff over the four years to represent the en- tire city and get important work done. The con is the new, longer term will ex- clude a lot of people who, like myself, have to work a full-time job to survive." After he was sworn in, newly appointed Mayor Fred Keeley said at the council meeting that the passage of Measure E served as the start of a new era of Santa Cruz history. The mayor also recounted two similar turning points in local history such as the founding of UC Santa Cruz and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. He said that those "inflection points" separated the first two eras of the city's modern history, and the passage of Measure E, the third. "I believe that what we will see going forward, and I mean in a very com- plimentary way, is neigh- borhood politicians such as Scott Newsome, such as Renee Golder who are elected by their district," said Keeley. "The job as mayor, it seems to me, in this new world order that's been established, is to try and see if there can be some overarching, city- wide looks and actions taken that respect the dis- tricts that we now have and that we will complete in the 2024 election." SANTA CRUZ Measure alters the political landscape Santa Cruz District Superintendent Chris Spohrer participates in a media tour of Big Basin Redwoods State Park on May 26. ARIC CRABB — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP The state park reopened July 22 Measure E passed in June brated bunch. They were honored during halftime of a San Jose Earthquakes game for winning a section title. Arias, a senior midfielder, was named the Gabilan Di- vision's Offensive Player of the Year and senior de- fender Isaak Vargas was named Defensive POY. Other athletes and teams considered for Sports News- maker of the Year include: MVC CAPS PERFECT POST- SEASON WITH HISTORIC CCS, NORCA L R E GIONA L B A S E - BALL TITLES » Nine days after winning the school's first CCS baseball title, MVC (24-8-1) made good of its No. 1 seed and home- field advantage to become Santa Cruz County's first program to win the inau- gural NorCal tournament. The Mustangs, who tied for third place in the PCAL's Mission Division, went 6-0 in the postseason. They beat Gunn 5-2 for the CCS Division VI title on May 26 and routed Berean Chris- tian of Walnut Creek 12-2 in the CIF NorCal Division V Regional Championship on June 4. SANTA CRUZ NATIVE LUKE ROCKHOLD, 37, RETIRES AF- TE R BLOODY, E N TE RTA I N- ING LOSS TO BRAZIL'S PAULO COSTA IN UFC 278 » Rock- hold suffered a broken nose early and was done no fa- vors fighting at elevation in Salt Lake City against a younger, more fit oppo- nent. But Rockhold made it plenty entertaining. He smeared his bloody face all over his opponent's face, neck and chest in the wan- ing seconds of the third round of their middle- weight bout, a move that pretty much broke Twitter. After retiring from the oc- tagon, Rockhold appeared on several podcasts in the days following his fight and said he'll never fully close the door to fighting. Y O U T H - L A D E N C A B R I L L O SHOWCASES FUTURE IN RE- TURN FROM TWO-YEAR SUS- PENSION » It was a long sea- son for Cabrillo, but the Se- ahawks learned throughout their 2-8 campaign. All but two players on their roster were freshmen. The Seahawks blasted Yuba 48-14 in their third game of the season, which gave Justin Hansen his first win as head coach, and knocked off Gavilan 28-21 in overtime of the teams' conference game. THE LANE TREATS SURFERS AS COLD WATER CLASSIC RE- TURNS AFTER SEVEN-YEAR HIATUS » With hundreds of fans lined rows deep on the cliff overlooking iconic surf break Steamer Lane, Kolohe Andino, a 28-year- old San Clemente native who competes on the World Surf League's Champion- ship Tour, rallied for the win over Taro Watanabe on Nov. 18. Z oe Benedet to, who hails from Palm City, Flor- ida, jumped out to an early lead and held on to defeat San Clemente's Bella Ken- wor thy, 14.83-12.74, for the women's title in her Steamer Lane debut. SANTA CRUZ NATIVE TOM URBANI, 54, A FORMER MLB P I T C H E R W H O C O A C H E D YOUTH BASEBALL, DIES » For- mer MLB pitcher Thomas Urbani, a loving husband and father, avid fisherman, and baseball man through and through, died Sept. 28 at the age of 54. He was a former standout at Harbor High, Cabrillo College and Long Beach State Univer- sity, and coached at several programs throughout the county. A PTOS CE LE BR ATE S LATE B A S K E T B A L L C O A C H I N G LEGEND BILL WARMERDAM » Friends, family and former pupils from up and down the state showed up at Ap- tos High on June 4 to pay tribute to Bill Warmerdam, who is said to be as good a person and teacher as he was a legendary high school basketball coach. Warmer- dam died at the age of 82 on May 18, two days after cel- ebrating his 62nd wedding anniversary with his wife, Patricia. CABRILLO HOSTS CELEBRA- TION OF LI FE FOR ICON IC FOOTBALL COACH JOE MAR- VIN » Marvin, inducted into Cabrillo's Athletic Hall of Fame on Jan. 23, 2016, had an impact on players and coaches throughout the greater Bay Area. He died on Feb. 23 at the age of 93. Cherished stories, jokes and "Marvinisms" were told and relished as a lim- ited crowd celebrated the life of iconic football coach at the Sesnon House at Ca- brillo College on May 14. Li- bations were raised in his honor long into the night. SCOTTS VALLEY HIGH HOSTS M E M O R I A L S E R V I C E F O R LATE FOOTBALL STAR CARL- TON KEEGAN » A memo- rial service for Scotts Val- ley High senior Carlton Keegan, 18, was held on the school's football field on April 16. Keegan, a tal- ented two-way lineman on the Falcons' league-cham- pion football team, was killed as a passenger in a solo car crash March 30. ST E L L A R F O O T B A L L S E A- SONS FOR APTOS, SOQUEL AND ST. FRANCIS » Aptos (9- 3, 5-1) stunned previously unbeaten Salinas to stay perfect in Gabilan Divi- sion on Oct. 14, and wound up sharing the division ti- tle with the Cowboys and Palma. It was the Mariners' first Gabilan title. Soquel (10-2, 6-0) com- pleted a perfect run through Mission Division and cel- ebrated its first league ti- tle since 2009. The Knights earned a promotion to the Gabilan, the top tier of the PCAL, with their title. The Knights also beat rival Santa Cruz to regain The Stump trophy on Sept. 9. St. Francis (9-2, 5-1) suf- fered an overtime loss at Soledad that prevented the Sharks from a perfect regular season and a sec- ond league title in as many years. Still, the Sharks took second and qualified for the CCS playoffs. SANTA CRUZ LEGEND PETER MEL INDUCTED INTO SURF- ERS' HALL OF FAME » Santa Cruz big wave surfer Peter Mel, 52, was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach on Aug. 5. Among his many accom- plishments, he was barreled by 40- to 45-foot giant at Mavericks on Jan. 8, 2021, and was awarded the 2021 Red Bull Big Wave Ride of the Year. Surrounded by family at Huntington Surf and Sport, Mel was part of a 2022 in- duction class that included surf explorer Martin Daly Sports FROM PAGE 1 SHMUEL THALER — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL Soquel High's girls water polo players and coaches takes the traditional victory plunge on Nov. 12 aŽer their win over Sacred Heart Prep to capture the 2022 Central Coast Section Open Division championship title at Hollister High. SPORTS » PAGE 7 CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF BUILDING SANTA CRUZ Established in 1947, Bogard Construcon, Inc. is an experienced General Contractor and Construcon Management firm, specializing in mul-million dollar commercial, industrial and instuonal structures. With 75 years of experience, and the dedicaon of four generaons of Bogard family members, Bogard Construcon is focused on generang superior results. hp://www.bogardconstrucon.com | | SANTACRUZSENTINEL.COM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2022 6 C