SC Long Term Recovery Group

Reliable access to water for fire protection has been one of the biggest barriers to rebuilding in Forest Springs since the CZU Fire. Last Friday, residents and partners came together to celebrate a major step forward!

On September 25, residents and project partners gathered to celebrate the completion of the Forest Springs Fire Hydrant System. The Fire damaged the neighborhood’s water system, leaving many residents without the reliable water pressure needed to rebuild and receive occupancy permits.

The completed system includes new four-inch water lines, five hydrants, a booster pump, backup generator, and propane tank and brings water pressure into compliance across 37 properties. Beyond making it possible for residents to complete their rebuilds, the project avoided each household having to solve the problem on its own at a much higher combined cost.

We are proud to have been a part of this project by connecting Forest Springs Improvement and Maintenance Association (FSIMA), through our Disaster Case Management Program, with funders and partners who helped make this project possible.

We’re grateful to FSIMA, Karen Vitale, Boulder Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Valley Churches United, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, and everyone whose persistence helped make this project possible.

We’re Hiring: Wildfire Resilience Program Manager

The Santa Cruz County Long-Term Recovery Group (SCCLTRG) is hiring a Wildfire Resilience Program Manager to lead our new Measure Q-funded wildfire mitigation initiative.

This program will help create critical Zone-0 defensible space for vulnerable and underserved residents across Santa Cruz County while also supporting local workforce development and creating pathways to training and certification.

We’re looking for a community-minded, operational leader with experience in nonprofit management. Experience with disaster preparedness, wildfire mitigation, environmental work, or related fields is a big plus. Experience supervising teams, coordinating partners, managing grants, and working with historically underserved communities is especially valuable.

📍 Location: Ben Lomond, CA, with frequent travel to project sites throughout Santa Cruz County
🕒 Schedule: Full-time, Monday–Friday, with occasional weekend flexibility
🏥 Benefits: Health insurance and paid time off
🚗 Mileage and travel reimbursement provided for project-related travel

This is an opportunity to help build a new program at the intersection of wildfire resilience, environmental safety, workforce development, and community equity.

Interested in helping make Santa Cruz County more wildfire-resilient? Apply today or share this opportunity with someone who may be a great fit.

https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=fbb37ebb36318101&from=shareddesktop_copy

We’re hiring a Community Resource Navigator through the California Emergency Response Corps (CERC) to serve with the Santa Cruz County Long Term Recovery Group in Ben Lomond.

This full-time, 11-month service position will support both our Disaster Case Management and Supply and Logistics programs. The Community Resource Navigator will help residents impacted by the 2020 CZU Fire and 2023 atmospheric rivers navigate recovery resources, apply for disaster assistance and funding, move through rebuilding and repair processes, and overcome barriers to reaching their recovery goals. The position will also help coordinate donated supplies and materials, maintain inventory, fulfill client and project needs, and support the distribution of resources to disaster-impacted households.

We’re looking for someone who is empathetic, patient, organized, comfortable working directly with clients, and able to navigate complex administrative systems.

Location: Ben Lomond, CA
Schedule: Full-time, approximately 40 hours/week
Term: 11 months / 1,700 service hours
Living Allowance: $30,000 total
Education Award: $10,000 upon successful completion of service
Benefits: Health insurance
Program: California Emergency Response Corps (CERC)

CERC members also receive training and may be deployed to support disaster response efforts throughout California for 2-week periods at a time.

If you’re interested in helping Santa Cruz County residents navigate the long-term recovery process and want to make a direct impact in the community, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply today or share this opportunity with someone who may be a great fit!

To be considered for this position, please complete both application steps below:

Apply through the California Emergency Response Corps (CERC):
Visit the CERC Application Portal. When prompted, select Santa Cruz County as your preferred region and choose the Long Term Recovery Group of Santa Cruz County position.
https://www.caemergencyresponsecorps.org/

Submit your application through Indeed:
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=f56a1af321444d91&from=shareddesktop_copy

Both applications are required to be considered for the position.

Our new website is live!

We’re excited to share a new and improved way to learn about the Santa Cruz County Long Term Recovery Group and the work happening across our community.

On the new site, you can explore our core programs, including Volunteer Rebuild, which helps disaster-impacted households complete critical home repairs and rebuilding projects, and Disaster Case Management, which provides individualized support to help residents navigate the complex path to recovery.

We’re also excited to introduce the new Santa Cruz County VOAD Directory, where you can discover the organizations and community partners working together to strengthen disaster preparedness, response, and long-term recovery throughout the county.

You can also find community resources, volunteer opportunities, organizational updates, and more. Keep an eye out for news about our upcoming Measure Q Zone-0 Equity and Workforce Initiative, which will support wildfire resilience while expanding equitable access to defensible-space services.

Explore the new site at https://www.sccltrg.org/

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥: Flood Insurance — Challenges and New Solutions

Are you looking to better understand flood risks and insurance options for your home or community?
Join Insurance for Good, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and the California Department of Insurance for the third session in the 2026 Insurance Resilience Planning Program summer series!

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀:
🗓 Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
⏰Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PT
FREE & open to the public!
Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yrTpV4TqQ7SmznlClwCraQ #/registration

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧:
An expert panel will discuss how to improve financial and physical flood resilience across California communities, including:
📊 Current State of Flood Insurance: Trends in California and an overview of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) elements. 📈 Market Dynamics: Key insights into the private flood insurance market.
💡 Innovative Solutions: Real-world case studies addressing context-specific flood risk management needs.

𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Moderator: Steven Koller (Insurance for Good)
Chad Berginnis (Association of State Floodplain Managers)
Jackie Higgins (Swiss Re)
Kate Stillwell (Neptune Flood Insurance)
Deborah Halberstadt (California Department of Insurance)

Share this invitation with colleagues, neighbors, and partners.

This week, our community came together to celebrate an extraordinary milestone! SCCLTRG completed our first ground-up volunteer rebuild for a home destroyed in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire.

After losing her home, Tonia Weakland faced the long and complicated process of preparing her property, navigating permits and regulations, and finding a path toward rebuilding. Throughout it all, she remained deeply connected to the land and committed to returning home.

When construction began in 2025, SCCLTRG’s construction team and volunteers came together to build the home from the ground up. Week after week, volunteers traveled from throughout the region, many commuting more than an hour each way. Working on the steep and demanding site, they framed walls, installed siding, painted, tiled, completed finish work, moved heavy materials up the hillside, and developed creative solutions whenever new challenges arose. Altogether, their donated labor contributed an estimated $112,474 in value to the rebuild.

Tonia was a regular part of that effort, traveling from San Francisco to work alongside the volunteers and contributing to many stages of the rebuild. She also helped preserve the property’s history by salvaging redwood from trees downed due to the fire. The wood was later milled and incorporated into the home’s trim, deck, and staircase.

Guiding that work throughout the project was SCCLTRG’s dedicated construction team. Their leadership, technical expertise, problem-solving, and day-to-day coordination brought together volunteers, professional tradespeople, donated materials, and community partners at every stage of the build. Their commitment kept this complex project moving forward and helped transform years of planning and community support into a completed home.

The impact of that collective effort was extraordinary. The estimated cost of building this home would be $700,000 through traditional for-profit means but was instead completed for approximately $215,000 in direct project costs, excluding staff time. The completed home reflects the work of a remarkable network of people and organizations who continued showing up long after the initial disaster. Volunteers, businesses, schools, faith communities, nonprofit partners, foundations, donors, and neighbors each contributed something essential.

Rebuild Funding Partners - $50,000 Combined Contribution: Community Foundation Santa Cruz County • Valley Churches United• The Home Depot Foundation
Donated Professional Labor Valued at $25,000: High Performance Electric • Holm Drywall

Donated Materials Valued at $7,121: Nielsen Studios • Good360 • Mennonite Disaster Services • ToolBank USA • Community Recovery Team

Volunteer Groups: Costanoa High School Construction Tech Class • Disciples of Christ • D***s with Drills • Sierra Service Project • Mercy High School Burlingame • Team Rubicon

Local Partners: Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay • St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church • Bear Creek Recreation Center

Learn more in KSBW’s coverage:
https://www.ksbw.com/article/santa-cruz-county-completes-home-rebuild-czu-fire/73300486

We were honored to accept the Be the Difference Award on behalf of the volunteers who give their time, skills, and energy to help their neighbors and strengthen our community.

Volunteers have played a vital role in supporting recovery efforts throughout Santa Cruz County. Through home repairs, accessibility improvements, debris removal, and helping complete ground-up home rebuilds, volunteers have provided thousands of hours of labor that directly support disaster survivors on their path to recovery. Their dedication has helped families restore safe, stable housing and move forward after disaster.

Volunteers are at the heart of what we do, and we are grateful for every person who has given their time, skills, and energy to help their neighbors recover.

Thank you to the volunteers and community partners who continue to make recovery possible! And, thank you to the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County for bringing together such an inspiring group of organizations and volunteers for a fabulous event.

Tomorrow is the day!

Join us this Saturday for an afternoon of preparedness, learning, and community connection at the Aptos Grange.

Hear from local experts, connect with community organizations, explore preparedness resources, and learn practical steps you can take to better prepare your home, family, and neighborhood for emergencies.

This free, family-friendly event will feature presentations, interactive activities, and opportunities to connect with the people and programs working to strengthen resilience across Santa Cruz County.

📍 Aptos Grange
2555 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos
🗓 TOMORROW — Saturday, June 6
⏰ 1:00 PM–5:00 PM

We hope to see you there!

🚨 This Saturday! Don’t miss it! 🚨
Speaker Highlight: Amanda Gullings

We’re excited to welcome Amanda Gullings, Emergency Services Analyst with the Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery, and Resilience (OR3), to our Disaster Preparedness Event on Saturday, June 6, at the Aptos Grange.

Amanda is a Santa Cruz native who has worked in public safety throughout the region for more than a decade and is passionate about helping her community prepare for and recover from emergencies. In her current role with OR3, she helps plan, coordinate, and maintain emergency management programs across the county, including emergency operations, preparedness planning, trainings, exercises, and community resilience initiatives. She previously served as the Campus Emergency Manager at UC Santa Cruz.

At our event, Amanda will share practical, easy-to-follow guidance on personal emergency preparedness, including local hazards, alerts and warnings, evacuation readiness, emergency supply kits, planning for medical and functional needs, and ways neighbors can work together to build stronger, more resilient communities.

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to strengthen your preparedness plans, you’ll leave with simple steps you can take now to help protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community when emergencies occur.

📅 Saturday, June 6
🕐 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Aptos Grange, 2555 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos

¿Su hogar sufrió daños durante las tormentas del 2023 o enero del 2024? Todavía hay ayuda disponible.

El Programa de Rehabilitación y Reconstrucción de Viviendas Unifamiliares ReCoverCA puede ayudar a propietarios de viviendas elegibles a reparar, reconstruir o reponer casas dañadas por inundaciones, deslaves, derrumbes y tormentas severas de febrero a julio del 2023 y en enero del 2024.

Dependiendo de su elegibilidad, la asistencia puede incluir:
Reparación o reconstrucción de su casa
Reemplazamiento de ciertas casas manufacturadas o móviles
Reembolso de ciertos costos de reparación o reconstrucción que usted ya haya realizado y pagado
Asistencia limitada para el pago de seguro contra inundaciones para ciertos hogares elegibles

Si usted vive en el condado de Santa Cruz o Monterey y su hogar fue impactado por las tormentas, el personal de ReCoverCA estará disponible en persona para responder a sus preguntas, explicar la elegibilidad, y proporcionar asistencia personalizada para llenar la solicitud.

📍 Condado de Santa Cruz
9 de junio | 12 PM–7 PM
Biblioteca de Watsonville
275 Main St STE 100
Watsonville, CA 95076

📍 Condado de Monterey
10 de junio | 12 PM–7 PM
Biblioteca de Watsonville
275 Main St STE 100
Watsonville, CA 95076

Si usted cree que es elegible vale la pena asistir para obtener más información y hablar directamente con el personal del programa. Le recomendamos que traiga documentos que comprueben que usted es propietario de la casa, el daño ocasionado por las tormentas, comunicaciones con su seguro y recibos de las reparaciones realizadas, para ayudar a nuestro personal a determinar si usted califica para el programa.