Backstory
On 8/20/20, we lost our homes to one of the many fires in the CZU Lightning Complex in the hills above Santa Cruz, CA. We rushed home from a camping trip on the 19th and had a chance to grab a few belongings, stashing them at our new basecamp at a pal's house in town (oddly the same house we were married in, 4 years earlier, to the day). While Taylor minded our 3 week old boy and our dog, I went up and did my best to protect our property from the fire. With no power, limited water and firefighting tools, and no firefighters (not one), our neighborhood became it's own private fire crew. While our house was among those lost, there would be few left standing if it wasn't for the nieghbors who stayed on the mountain and worked 7 days straight in organized teams with home-made fire trucks and whatever tools were on hand. Of 90 homes in our 'neighborhood,' ~30 were lost. Over 900 homes in Santa Cruz county burned. Miraculously, only one life was lost . We love ...