Press Release – For Immediate Release
Contact Alex Krem 510-610-3555 or alex@campingunlimited.org with questions or requests for further information.
Greening of the Hillsides
A Summer Camp for the Disabled is Rising from the Ashes
Camp Krem “A place for exceptional people to be themselves – since 1957”
California is still reeling from the devastating wildfires in 2020 when nearly 10,000 separate fires burned more than 4% of the state’s beautiful land. The August Complex fire, the state’s first-ever “gigafire,” burned a million acres in seven counties and over 10,000 structures costing over $12 billion.
Among the losses was Camp Krem in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a haven for thousands of people with intellectual, and developmental disabilities. Established as a non-profit charity in 1957, this beloved facility with a long and much-admired history was virtually destroyed. Thirty-one of its 32 structures were burned to the ground and their contents lost forever. “We are surrounded by beautiful forest, so we worked hard to prepare for a fire,” said Alex Krem, Chairman of Camping Unlimited, a non-profit charity that owns Camp Krem. “Regular collaboration with the local fire department, the county fire marshal and CalFire guided our regular and extensive efforts to provide and extend our defensible perimeter. Grants from generous foundations helped us. We thought we were ready. What happened was beyond our wildest fears! The raging firestorm took almost everything,” Krem added. “The longest journey is accomplished step by step, so now we rebuild what we lost.”
Thanks to support from local elected officials, Camp Krem is declared eligible for public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES). “This will help with the expensive rebuild we now face, but we must raise much more money,” said Krem. To this end, community support has been gratifying and the county building department wonderfully helpful. The road into camp, badly damaged when the fire burned out retaining walls, has been repaired and access is now possible. PG&E has restored electricity and New Age Electric is generously volunteering to connect electricity to the swimming pool so toxic ash can be filtered and to support other rebuilding activities. Volunteer architects, engineers, and builders are supporting the Rebuilding Team, now advertising for an Owner’s Representative to head the rebuilding effort. “We do a terrific job of providing respite to parents and caregivers, and independence-building recreation to their children,” Krem observed. “But we have no experience in large building projects. We need help.”
The winter rains are already helping. Redwood saplings, pea vines, and grasses are growing and the stark landscape is gradually showing signs of rebirth. “It will be two or three years before our main camp is rebuilt. That gives Mother Nature a chance to make the place look beautiful again,” says Krem. Many of the damaged trees are dangerous and will be removed. That will increase the firebreak and protect against future fires. Fire-resistant redwoods will replace the more flammable pines and firs that were lost, returning the area to the way it looked before the extensive logging of the early 20th century turned the local redwood forests into lumber for San Francisco after its great earthquake and fire of 1906.
“We intend to begin our many wonderful programs as soon as possible,” says Krem. “Once the pandemic is behind us, we will resume our weekend trips and travel camp. We managed to evacuate almost all our vehicles just before the fire arrived. However, until our own camp is rebuilt, we may have to rent a facility elsewhere. It took 63 years to build what we lost. It will be easier this time, thanks to the help of many kind people. Still, we have a long road ahead.”
