Around 3 p.m. on Dec. 3, the smell of burning wood pervaded the air surrounding the Academic Resource Center and the Student Media/Press Center (SMPC). Smoke rose from a ravine adjacent to the buildings.

According to a crime bulletin by the UCSC Police Department, an unknown person intentionally set a fire in the gully separating the SMPC from McHenry Library.

This incident follows an additional intentionally set fire — also by an unknown person — on Nov. 27 near Chinquapin Road, which caused minor damages.

A lone Police Officer extinguished the fire, leaving a tree stump smoldering next to a makeshift hut made of sticks and a painted car door. This photo was taken before the fire department arrived. Photo by Jayden Norris
A lone Police Officer extinguished the fire, leaving a tree stump smoldering next to a makeshift hut made of sticks and a painted car door. This photo was taken before the fire department arrived. Photo by Jayden Norris