Taking the Bull by the Horns/ Santa Cruz Mountain Bulletin

06/09/2024

05/09/2024

04/09/2024

Sign up for local emergency alerts with Cruz Aware!
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Regístrese para recibir alertas de emergencia locales con Cruz Aware.

https://santacruzcountyca.gov/OR3/Response/PlanandPrepare/AlertNotificationApplication.aspx

04/09/2024

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

04/09/2024

30/08/2024

With climate change and fire seasons, lasting into the early winter months. Residents all across the western states are adapting to protect the largest investment most of us will ever make, our homes. Along with building codes adapting to the new more common frequency of fires new products are coming out constantly that help homeowners change the exterior of their homes to being non-combustible from landscaping to concrete parameters , fire resistant siding, eve and
foundation ventilation systems, that close off when encountering high temperatures.
The last four years as a contractor in a classified high fire danger area in the Santa Cruz mountains I’ve been primarily helping homeowners home Harden their homes in case of another wild-land fire. So I’d like to share with you some of the wonderful new products available. We will start from the bottom up. It’s without saying that any flammable or combustible material should not be around your house or up against it, including vegetation and starting with the foundation. Vulcan vents have developed a new product that is designed like honeycomb behind the main screen that allows airflow to keep foundation ventilated, but in the event of Fire approaching your home the honeycombs closed and prevents fire from entering under your floor into your basement areas . They also make them in gable vents for older cabins that only have cable, ventilation and soffit vents for soffit ventilation. One of the most popular new products is James Hardie siding, it’s a fiber cement board that will not burn and is designed with a nice wood grain pattern to it, so it looks like Wood siding. James Hardie also developed trim that comes in various sizes such as 1x4 1x6 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 for corner trim and window trim for different aesthetics of your home the way homeowners prefer it to look (You’ll see in the photos). With James hardie products and Vulcan vent systems is you best bet besides stucco to home harden the exterior walls. Now we move onto roofs, a wonderful newly developed underlayment for composition roofs and metal. Polyglass Q by Mapei group is a new fire resistant underlayment material. (See photo)
And of course the best fire resistant roofing is a metal roof, but majority of us have composition roofing so it’s an added layer of fire resistance for your roof.
And last but not least decks . Several new man-made decking products such as Trex transcend is fire rated along with fiberon and TimberTech. Some of the decking is not fire rated so be sure to check with your supplier on the different models that they supply and which ones are and which aren’t rated. No when it comes to decks of course the frame is always wood and difficult to protect the underside of decks from fire unless you have deep pockets and you can do metal framing for your sub structure of deck , the best defensible way is to either have absolutely nothing flammable around the perimeter of your deck. Some customers have wrapped the rim of their decks with a hardi siding and used hardie sheets and multiple rows of Vulcan soffit ventilation for water to drain out of which I don’t advise . The airflow under a deck is super important and trapping water is never a good idea. So with these wonderful new products to home, harden, your house along with changing the perimeter landscape around your house to rock stone or concrete and keep any vegetation/fuel away from your house as much as possible. I know in the Santa Cruz mountains properties are not that large so we all just do the best we can with what we got.
Hope that helps a lot of you to make some decisions in the future if you’re concerned about forest fires. I’ve added some pictures of the products I have used.
Remember, if you can’t find a blessing, try to be one.

24/08/2024

Awesome day celebrating our volunteers that make Valley Churches United what it is, so many people volunteer their time and put an hours in hours of work to help others. I forgot to take more pictures only got a couple. It’s an honor to be a board member and be a part of something that is a blessing to so many. 


17/07/2024

06/07/2024

Get out your poles. 🎣 on

17/06/2024

$500 Reward if found. My 3 month old imprint peregrine falcon broke his leash yesterday morning in the area of Highway 9/ Brimblecom area. He is imprinted on people and will come to just about anyone holding something that looks like food, holding your hand out with something in it and whistle this. morning he’ll be extremely hungry. He’ll be identifiable by the anklets and blue jesses hanging from his legs with part of a white string, which was his leash. June 17.
If you hear crows making a ruckus or Blue Jays, that could be an indication. 831-588-2055 text please. 

10/06/2024

09/06/2024

"Control" is an element of weakness and insecurity. You truly cannot control anyone or anything other than your effort and attitude.

08/06/2024

Prescribed fires are returning to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park! 🔥

Next week (June 10-16), the Natural Resources crew will burn a 13-acre area near the observation platform as part of a long-term strategy at the state park to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and to maintain rare ponderosa pine sandhills habitat. This rare habitat type relies on fire to maintain a healthy ecosystem and regenerate sensitive species. In addition, this project provides increased fire protection for nearby residential areas.

Ignitions are scheduled to occur between 8 am and 5 pm. Powder Mill Road, Ridge Road and Pine Trail may be closed during the burn operation and the public rerouted during this time. If using the trails during this time period, please follow all directions from State Parks staff and obey trail closure notices to ensure everyone's safety.

The work will be dependent on weather that will facilitate smoke dispersal. Over the days following ignition, the burn will be monitored 24 hours a day.

Be sure to visit our website www.parks.ca.gov/santacruzprescribedburns to stay informed about our efforts to preserve our public lands, improve biodiversity, and ensure a safer environment for our community.

📷: A banana slug crawls on the redwood forest floor near a prescribed burn drip torch.

📍 Ohlone Tribal Land

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks Mountain Parks Foundation

16/04/2024

14/04/2024

SACRAMENTO – President Biden has approved Governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support ongoing recovery efforts following widespread flooding…

15/03/2024

Contact John and share your experience

13/03/2024

In the Santa Cruz mountains

20/02/2024

Morning inspiration 🤠
Perhaps you have heard about the “law of attraction” and “manifesting your own reality.” Manifesting refers to the ability to attract positive things towards us through the use of our intention and thoughts. The principles behind Manifesting go back thousands of years. Over time, different cultures and civilizations have uncovered these basic truths, and expressed them in their own way – from ancient Hindu scriptures to modern day particle theory.
The language may have changed, but the underlying law is universal. Everything in the world is made of particles of energy, vibrating at different frequencies. When we send out positive thoughts of gratitude and abundance, we attract positive energy into our lives (and vice versa). It’s the same principle behind bestselling books like The Celestine Prophecy and films like The Secret and What the Bleep Do We Know?!.
We all use manifestation in our lives, whether we realize it or not. Most of the time, we do it unconsciously. We might fall into a negative spiral, and everything seems to go wrong at once. Or we have one success which leads to another, and another. The basic principle of the law of attraction is that "like attracts like." Often, we do this unconsciously. But once you master it, you can consciously create the reality you want.
Manifesting our reality is about learning to use the hidden power of our mind.

19/02/2024

05/08/2022

03/08/2022

by Kevin Foster   Most people in our Santa Cruz mountains have noticed the decrease in raccoon populations. For the last several years distemper has been running rampant through our state. Wil…

01/06/2022