Category: Fire Departments

To report this story, the SLV Post reviewed Felton Fire District’s own budget documents, the LAFCO countywide governance report, the district’s draft staffing projections and engineer’s reports, and conducted interviews with Felton Fire’s interim chief, regional fire chiefs, fire professionals countywide, and Santa Cruz County and LAFCO officials. By Mary Andersen Updated 6/30/2026 Ballots have arrived in Felton mailboxes and… Read More

Felton Fire’s benefit assessment taxing mechanism is underway. If the board votes to proceed on May 11, ballots will mail May 20. Here is what every Felton property owner should understand before that ballot arrives — including a legal deadline that could permanently strip your right to legal recourse, and a tension at the heart of this assessment that Proposition… Read More

Property owners could receive ballots as early as May 20 The Felton Fire Protection District is asking property owners to approve a $1.7 million annual benefit assessment that would transform the district from a historically volunteer-based agency into a fully paid department. If the board votes to proceed on May 11, ballots are expected in mailboxes May 20. The assessment… Read More

By Mary Andersen Felton Fire Protection District has moved toward a major funding mechanism that could impact how fire and emergency services are delivered to the roughly 6,000 permanent residents, seasonal visitors, businesses, and schools, that depend on the small Santa Cruz Mountains agency. Through 2025, the district explored a $682+ parcel tax for a possible ballot measure, but that… Read More

California State Parks is conducting pile-burning operations across several mountain parks in Santa Cruz County, with work continuing as weather and air-quality conditions allow through April 2026. Roughly 400 burn piles are planned across Big Basin Redwoods, Castle Rock, and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Parks, including the Fall Creek Unit. The burns support long-term forest health and wildfire resilience. At… Read More

The Zayante Fire Protection District announced that San Lorenzo Valley fire districts have received a $160,500 Regional Crash Response and Extrication Improvement Program grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to purchase new emergency extrication equipment. Awarded in October 2025, the grant supports: Zayante, Boulder Creek, Felton, and Ben Lomond Fire Protection Districts. The funding enables the districts… Read More