Mountain Network News

Local Events

Monday, July 7
Mountain-area 55-plus trip to Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Loma Prieta Community Center to carpool to Watsonville.

Geocaching hike at Bear Creek Stables. Reservations are required, email bearcreekstables@gmail.com.

July 7 to 11, July 14 to 18
Theatre-in-the-Mountains summer-theater camps for students ages 8 to 12. Loma Prieta Elementary School campus. For information and registration, visit www.theatreinthemountains.org. Click on Summer Camp 2014. Tuition is $175 per session. Discounts are available.

Friday, July 18
Loma Prieta Community Foundation summer movie night, 8 p.m. at the Redwood Amphitheater, behind the Loma Prieta playfield and gazebo. Admission is free, concessions are available.

Saturday, July 19
Community flea market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mountain Bible Church parking lot, 23946 Summit Road. Call 408-353-2302 to rent a space for the day.

Los Gatos Recreation 55-plus day trip to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, “Intimate Impressionism” exhibit.
Bus leaves from Los Gatos Adult Recreation Center, 208 E. Main Street, at 10 a.m.

Passport Day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at participating mountain-area wineries

Monday, July 21
Mountain-area 55-plus program. Puzzles, games, and handcrafts. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Loma Prieta Community Center

Saturday, July 26
Rockin’ 3, Joe Sharino Band
7:30 - 10:30 p.m., Loma Prieta Community Center. All proceeds benefit the Loma Prieta Volunteer Fire and Rescue water-tender fund.

Tuesday, August 5
Mountain Residents’ Night Out, 6 to 8:30 p.m., Loma Prieta playfield and gazebo

Friday, August 15
Loma Prieta Community Foundation summer movie night, 8 p.m. at the Redwood Amphitheater, behind the Loma Prieta playfield and gazebo. Admission is free, concessions are available.

For updates on Santa Cruz County road closures,
see www.sccroadclosure.org/

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Wildlife in the Mountains

If you see a mountain lion or other interesting wildlife in our area,
call Neil at 408-353-1901 or email news@mnn.net.
I'll post the sighting.
Be sure to give me a short description of the animal, specific location, date, and time.

We'll share the results here.

Click here for other wildlife sightings

For more information from
California Fish and Game
about mountain lions, click here.

Click Here for Ways to Prevent Erosion

Click Here for Santa Cruz County Burn Regulations

Have you updated your family disaster plan? Here's how...

Mountain Wildfires
How did they happen, and what we can do to stop them

Protecting Your Home from Fire

Here’s a checklist on how to improve your landscaping from CalFire at www.fire.ca.gov:

Create a defensible space of one hundred feet around your home. It is required by law.

Create a "lean, clean, green zone" by removing all flammable vegetation within thirty feet surrounding your home

Create a "reduced fuel zone" in the remaining seventy feet or to your property line.

You have two options in this area:

A. Create horizontal and vertical spacing between plants. The amount of space will depend on how steep your property is and the size of your plants.

B. Large trees do not have to be removed as long as all of the plants beneath them are removed.

Remove lower tree branches at least six feet from the ground

Landscape with fire resistant plants

Maintain all plants with regular water, and keep dead braches, leaves, and needles removed.

When clearing vegetation, use care when operating equipment such as lawnmowers. One small spark may start a fire; a string trimmer is much safer.

Stack woodpiles at least thirty feet from all structures and remove vegetation within ten feet of woodpiles.

Locate LPG tanks (butane and propane) at least thirty feet from any structure and maintain ten feet of clearance.

Remove all stacks of construction materials, pine needles, leaves, and other debris from your yard.

For other ways to protect your home from fire, visit www.fire.ca.gov