Evacuation Orders Issued for CZU Burn Zones in Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- With an "atmospheric river" rainstorm barreling toward the Bay Area, evacuation orders were issued Saturday afternoon for higher-risk areas of Santa Cruz County as deputies went door-to-door to notify residents.

County residents are encouraged to call (831) 454-2181 with questions regarding evacuations and resources and the county expects to open a shelter at 8 a.m. Sunday, according to Nicole Coburn, the county's assistant county administrative officer.

"The Sheriff's Office began door-to-door outreach Saturday in anticipation of evacuations in higher- risk areas," Coburn said. Deputies are contacting homes in the low-lying, high-risk areas that have the highest potential for evacuation, the assistant administrative officer said.

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Residents are encouraged to look up their evacuation zone at https://community.zonehaven.com. Residents are also encouraged to register landlines, cellphones, or VoIP phones with CodeRED by visiting https://www.scr911.org and signing up for notifications or texting SCR911 to 99411.

"We are finalizing the plans for the location of the evacuee shelter and soon as we get the site solidified we will advise the public" of the location, Coburn said.

Debris flows are fast-moving masses of mud, rocks, boulders, trees and sometimes homes or vehicles. They move quickly and are often deadly to those in their path.

The only way to avoid debris flows is to move to safety prior to any debris flow event, according to the county.

For debris flow information, residents can visit http://www.santacruzcounty.us/FireRecovery/DebrisFlow.aspx

County residents are advised to seek shelter with friends and families and asked to follow local news or County social media accounts at www.twitter.com/sccounty or www.facebook.com/countyofsantacruz for updates and additional information.

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