On February 4, 2025, the only access bridge serving the Bonnie Brier community in Boulder Creek became impassable when the road leading to the bridge collapsed and the bridge abutment shifted.
This event immediately isolated 21 homes from emergency services, deliveries, and essential access.
Since that date, the Bonnie Brier community has organized an ongoing, coordinated response to restore safe access while pursuing long-term funding and engineering solutions.
The immediate response included site inspections by local officials and agencies, and emergency fencing for safety.
The bridge replacement is expected to be a multi-year, multi-phase project with significant permitting and construction challenges.
Community volunteers have been researching funding, engineering, and legal options, but the challenges remain urgent.
Currently, the 21 families are forced to trespass over private land just to reach their homes, go to work, and take children to school. Fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency services cannot reach the area, and homeowners face losing insurance, loans, and financial stability.
The public community is landlocked by private property, which limits access and increases risk for everyone, including young families, elderly, disabled, retired, and fixed income households.
As a small community in the Santa Cruz Mts, we believed that the County would support our bridge replacement as we thought the County owned the bridge. After meeting with County officials, they denied ownership of the bridge. The County does claim the roads are public but labeled them as unmaintained. So, the County is taking zero responsibility to support our community.
Bonnie Brier was blindsided by this knowledge. The thought of not receiving financial support from the County devastated our community. In addition, there was no insurance policy to request monetary support. The Governor designated many other cities and counties as disaster areas from the 2025 storms, but it did not include Boulder Creek, so FEMA loans are not available for our community.
If the County was not going to help financially, how would our small community be able to afford to pay for the replacement of the bridge, permits, fees, and other costs?
Our situation has become a burden far beyond our small community’s ability to assume. This is why we are reaching out to the broader community for help. We have many people that will not be able to afford their portion of the estimated $2.5M it will cost to replace the bridge and repair the road.
Funds raised will help cover the first phase of recovery, including surveys, soils reports, geoengineers, attorneys, and engineering plans, as well as permitting costs. Additional funds will go toward debris removal, road and bridge reconstruction, and ensuring safe, reliable access for all residents.
This support is critical for families, elderly, disabled, and those on fixed incomes who are currently landlocked and at risk.
We are deeply grateful for your kindness, generosity, and willingness to stand with our community during this difficult time.
Together, we can rebuild this essential connection and ensure that no family is left isolated or unsafe. With sincere thanks.