Boulder Creek Emergency Contacts: The One-Page List

The short version

• Any emergency (fire, medical, a crash with injuries, a crime in progress, a gas smell, a downed power line): call 911.
• Non-emergency Sheriff: (831) 471-1121 when you need a deputy but it isn't a 911 call.
• Tree, slide, or flooding on a county road: county road dispatch at (831) 477-3999, answered 24/7.
• Power out: the PG&E outage center or 1-877-660-6789. A downed line is 911 first, then PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
• Water emergency: San Lorenzo Valley Water District at (831) 338-2153, day or night.
• Before storm season: sign up for CruzAware alerts so evacuation and weather warnings reach your phone.

When a winter storm puts a redwood across the road and the power's been out since dinner, the last thing you want is to be hunting for a phone number. For any emergency in Boulder Creek, call 911. That's the whole first rule, and it covers fire, medical, crime in progress, a downed power line, or any situation where someone could get hurt.

Everything below is for the moments that aren't 911 calls: the tree across a county road, the water main bubbling up on your street, the outage that's stretched into hour six. Every number and link on this page is checked against the agency's own website, and we re-verify the list quarterly. Print it, stick it on the fridge, and you won't have to dig through a dozen sites during a storm.

When to Call 911

Call 911 for anything that threatens life or property right now:

• Smoke or flames
• A medical emergency
• A crash with injuries
• A crime happening in front of you
• A gas smell
• A power line on the ground

Don't worry about whether it's "bad enough." Dispatchers would rather sort that out than have you wait. Everything else on this page is for situations that are a problem but not an emergency.

Fire: Boulder Creek Fire Protection District

The Boulder Creek Fire Protection District is our local fire agency, based at 13230 Central Ave in the middle of town.

The district office line is (831) 338-7222. Use it for district business: questions about the department, defensible space, permits, and community programs. It is not a dispatch line. If something is burning, call 911.

For wildfire information at the regional level, CAL FIRE covers our area through its San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit (CZU), headquartered at 6059 Highway 9 in Felton. The unit office number is (831) 335-5353, again for administrative questions rather than reporting fires.

Law Enforcement: Santa Cruz County Sheriff

Boulder Creek is unincorporated, so law enforcement is the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

For a deputy when it's not an emergency (a cold burglary, ongoing noise, suspicious activity that's already over), call non-emergency dispatch at (831) 471-1121. The main Sheriff's Office line is (831) 454-7600 for records and general business. The full list of division numbers is on the Sheriff's phone directory.

There's also a Boulder Creek Sheriff's Service Center right in town at 13210 Central Avenue, reachable at (831) 454-7440. It's a satellite office, not a dispatch center, so hours vary. Call before you drive over.

One number here is easy to get wrong. The countywide phone directory doesn't carry a Boulder Creek line; it lists the San Lorenzo Valley service center separately at (831) 454-7400. Those are two different numbers, one digit apart, and 454-7440 is the Boulder Creek one.

Roads: County Public Works and Caltrans

Road problems split two ways in Boulder Creek, and knowing which agency owns the road saves you a transfer.

County-maintained roads (most of the neighborhood roads off the highway) belong to Santa Cruz County Public Works, part of the county's Community Development and Infrastructure department. Their road dispatch line, (831) 477-3999, is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it's the number for a tree down across a county road, a slide, a flooded section, or a failing culvert. The department's main line is (831) 454-2160, weekdays 8 to noon and 1 to 5.

Current closures are posted on the county's road closure dashboard. One heads-up: on the county's Transportation and Roads page, that dashboard is now labeled "Road Advisories," not "Road Closures," so scan for that wording.

Highway 9 and Highway 236 are state highways, so they're Caltrans territory. For current highway conditions, check the Caltrans road information page or call 1-800-427-7623 and enter the route number.

If a downed tree involves power lines, treat it as an emergency: call 911 and stay well away.

Power and Gas: PG&E

For outages, start at the PG&E outage center, where you can report an outage and check the outage map. PG&E's customer service line is 1-877-660-6789.

For a downed power line, PG&E's own guidance is blunt and worth repeating: call 911 first, then PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. Keep people and pets far away, and assume every line is live.

If you smell gas, get outside and away from the building first, then call 911. Once you are safe, call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. Their outage and safety support page covers other reporting options.

PG&E also offers outage updates by text, email, or phone if you sign up through your PG&E online account. It's worth doing before storm season, since those alerts are tied to your service address.

Water: San Lorenzo Valley Water District

Most Boulder Creek homes get water from the San Lorenzo Valley Water District, headquartered at 13060 Highway 9 in Boulder Creek.

One number covers everything: (831) 338-2153. During office hours (weekdays 8:30 to noon and 1 to 5, phones until 4:30) you'll reach staff directly. For a water emergency after hours, a main break, or a big leak, call the same number; the district says calls forward to an answering service that reaches their on-call staff. Details are on their customer service page.

If you're on a different system (some streets are served by small mutual water companies), your bill has the right number. Add it to your copy of this list.

Alerts: Sign Up for CruzAware

CruzAware is the county's emergency and non-emergency alert system, operated by the County of Santa Cruz with Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1. It sends evacuation notices, severe weather warnings, and other public safety alerts by text, phone call, and email. Signing up takes a few minutes at cruzaware.org, and the county's alert information page explains the system. No alert system can promise delivery in every situation, so registering more than one contact method is smart. We have a full walkthrough in our CruzAware setup guide.

Back yourself up with channels that don't depend on CruzAware: Nixle is a separate service you can join by texting your ZIP code to 888777, and Wireless Emergency Alerts and the Emergency Alert System reach your phone and radio with no signup at all.

Keep This List Where You Can Find It

Phones die in outages and cell service up here gets thin in a storm. A paper copy in a kitchen drawer costs you nothing. We re-check every number on this page against the agencies' own sites each quarter; if you ever find one that's changed before we do, tell us and we'll fix it.

For the fuller picture of who serves what, utilities, permits, and county contacts all in one place, see the Residents guide. When the lights actually go out, our power outage plan walks through what to do next.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who do I call about a tree down across my road?

If lines are involved or it's blocking an evacuation route during an active emergency, call 911. Otherwise: county road dispatch at (831) 477-3999 for county-maintained roads, any hour. If it's on Highway 9 or 236, it's Caltrans; check conditions or call 1-800-427-7623. On a private road, clearing it is generally the road association's job.

What's the non-emergency number for the Sheriff in Boulder Creek?

Call (831) 471-1121 for non-emergency dispatch when you need a deputy. The Boulder Creek Sheriff's Service Center on Central Avenue is (831) 454-7440 for local, non-urgent matters.

Who do I call when the power goes out?

Report it and track it through the PG&E outage center, or call 1-877-660-6789. If you see a downed line, that's a 911 call first, then PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.

Is there one number for water problems?

For San Lorenzo Valley Water District customers, yes: (831) 338-2153, day or night. After hours it forwards to an answering service that contacts on-call crews.

How current is this list?

Every contact is checked against the agency's own website, and we review the page quarterly. If an agency's information isn't listed here, go straight to that agency's site rather than guessing.

Last reviewed July 21, 2026. Every number and link on this page was checked against the responsible agency's own website. For anything time-sensitive, the official source is linked inline.