‘A different experience’ imagined at Big Basin Redwoods State Park 5 years after the CZU fires

BOULDER CREEK — California’s oldest state park — Big Basin Redwoods — thrived for 118 years, but it took less than 24 hours for almost all of the 18,000-acre property to go up in smoke.

In the early hours of the CZU Lightning Complex fires, ignited Aug. 16, 2020, the wind moved in a southern direction, forcing the light brown plumes of wildfire smoke over the Pacific Ocean and away from the historic facility and forest nestled deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But to the horror of the park’s staff and an anxious public, the wind flipped on Aug. 18 and put the treasured local enclave directly in the fire’s path.

What started as a few spot fires quickly transformed into a raging inferno that chewed through 100 structures, 85 miles of trails, 20 homes inhabited by State Parks staff and a ne