The Santa Clara County Fire Department has more than three times the space to fight fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains with last week’s opening of the Redwood Fire Station.
Though the department has had a fire station south of the Lexington Reservoir since 1979, it began constructing a larger station about eight years ago, according to county fire officials. The Redwood Fire Station is more than triple the size of the original facility.
The new station includes three additional dormitories to house firefighters, a lookout tower for firefighters to spot vegetation fires and an increased capacity to accommodate more fire engines and utility vehicles, officials with the department said at the grand opening on Oct. 30.
“This new facility demonstrates the agency’s strong, enduring commitment to prioritizing a healthy, prepared and resilient public safety agency, emphasizing firefighter health, training and operational readiness,” said County Fire Chief Suwanna Kerdkaew.
Located in Redwood Estates off Highway 17, the station will serve residents of that and other unincorporated communities, including Chemeketa Park and Lexington Hills, providing a service to an area where fire safety has long been a concern. Not only are the Santa Cruz Mountains more prone to wildfires, its roadways can be difficult to navigate by car in extreme weather.
The old fire station was more limited in its offerings. Kerdkaew’s description of the former station was met with laughter from firefighters at the grand opening.
The station “went from being two very outdated, quaint modular buildings, which is a nice way to say it, to the modern two-story building you see today,” she said.
The revamped fire station opens as Cal Fire and county fire officials continue to investigate arson as the cause of four separate small fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains this summer, which put some residents on edge.
Fire safety had also been a concern for hundreds of residents along Mountain Charlie Road, also in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which saw a landslide this spring that blocked access to main roads.
Though Santa Cruz County officials wrapped up construction of a temporary road in the area of the slide in September, restoring access, residents had been worried about their ability to evacuate in the event of a major fire through the summer.
Local officials like state Assemblymember Gail Pellerin and Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee were in attendance at the Oct. 30 event to present certificates to recognize the fire department’s completing the new station.
“As a county, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Santa Clara County Fire Department leaders and partners, and everyone in the community who supported making this station a reality,” Lee said.
