NASA reports that Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will align in the night sky this month.

Bea Karnes and Patch Staff

SANTA CRUZ, CA — Skygazers are in for a special celestial treat with this year’s full wolf moon on Monday night if sky conditions in Santa Cruz cooperate. Right now, the forecast calls for clear skies.

The moon will pass directly in front of Mars, combining with the bright star Pollux to create a stunning view. Mars is one of four planets lining up this month in a rare four-planet conjunction.

Below is all you need to know about taking it all in.

The moon reaches peak illumination at 2:27 p.m. PST Monday. Once it peeks over the horizon, it’s time to start watching for the magic. Times vary by region, according to NASA, whose times are localized to the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Throughout January, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars will align in the night sky, according to NASA.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Just after sunset, look southwest and find Venus and Saturn low in the sky. Jupiter shines brightly above them, and Mars glows in the eastern sky. They’re all visible to the naked eye during clear conditions, but a telescope may reveal two other planets, Uranus and Neptune.

Because the planets align along the ecliptic, the solar system’s orbital plane, they appear to seem close together from Earth, NASA explains.

Each evening in January, Venus and Saturn will appear closer together, appearing the closest on Jan. 17-18 before gradually moving apart. NASA says the rare event offers a great opportunity for skywatchers to observe planetary movement.

January’s full moon is known as the wolf moon. Wolves seem to howl more at this time of year as the snow and cold of winter set in. According to lore, wolves howled because they were starving.

That’s not the case, though.

The truth reveals the complexity of wolves’ social lives.

“Howling is for long-distance communication to pull a pack back together and keep strangers away,” according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Howling is just one of the ways wolves communicate. They also use body language, mark their territories with scent, and bark and growl. Much of their communication is about reinforcing the social hierarchy of the pack, according to the NWF.

This communication also includes submissive behavior. A wolf not willing to challenge the hierarchy will often crouch and whimper, tuck in its tail, lick the other wolf’s mouth or roll over on its back, the organization said. If the opposite is true and a wolf wants to challenge the status quo, it will often growl and lay its ears back.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The wildfires in Los Angeles have sparked many questions for homeowners living in fire prone areas like Santa Cruz County.

With many insurance companies already pulling out of the state, people are concerned about rising premiums and the threat of losing coverage altogether.

In areas like Santa Cruz, rising insurance premiums are pushing homeowners to the edge. Some are forced to rely on California’s Fair Plan, while others fear their policies could be entirely canceled.

"My insurance, in the past year and a half has gone up 500%, went from about $1,200, annually to, $7,000 annually," Don Baker lives in Boulder Creek said.

As premiums rise, many homeowners worry they’ll be priced out of their homes.

"Taxes and home insurance is 50% of my mortgage, and people aren't going to be able to afford when their insurance exceeds the cost of their mortgage," Baker said. "People are going to have to sell and move."

While the crisis continues, insurance experts are hopeful that recent reforms will provide some relief. However, it is still unclear when those changes will take place.

"With the insurance reform, we hope that it stabilizes. that's what we're hoping to get back to a more traditional policy," Ted Herzon Farmers Insurance Agent and owner said.

These reforms include risk-based modeling and new technologies to better assess premiums.

"A lot of companies use what we call a fire line score or a protection class, which, a protection class should be, closest responding fire station is their fire hydrant," Herzon said.

Experts are urging homeowners to take proactive steps to reduce their risk and protect their properties.

"Minimize the risk at the property, like, wildfire mitigation as far as keeping your property, clear of, you know, fuel or dry debris, keeping trees, trimmed in away from the property," Herzon said.

The thought of losing coverage is prompting many to sell and move out of the area.

"My neighbor, he hasn't lost his insurance yet," Baker said. "But he's worried and he did say he's going to sell his house and move if he gets dropped from his current carrier and he's not going to do the California Fair Plan, he'll sell and move, Baker said.

Baker lost his insurance about a year and a half ago, and seeing the wildfires in Los Angeles has left him scared.

"I can't have my double again or triple, as it's said, as it's done over the last year," Baker said.

Insurance agents are adapting to new requirements after the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.

"In the past, we would technically we would quote a policy based on the address you'll pull out of that information and now the, carriers are asking for images and, you know, up to date of any safety features of the house," Herzon said.

"It’s unclear whether Santa Cruz homeowners will face a rate hike following the Los Angeles wildfires.

Statement from Assemblymember Pellerin regarding insurance coverage in California:

“I am truly saddened by the tragic events taking place in Southern California, and my heart goes out to all the victims of the fires. That fear of wildfire devastation is still very much on the minds of my constituents in the Santa Cruz Mountains and communities in Assembly District 28,” Assemblymember Gail Pellerin said. “We have made great strides to modernize California’s insurance market, recognizing climate change with intentions of increasing insurance availability in 2025. It is truly tragic that these horrific fires are devastating our state at the same time that we are so close to getting insurance companies back to California writing policies. It is uncertain what impact this catastrophic event will have on these efforts. I plan on being fully engaged in the recovery work necessary to restore our insurance markets.”

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Quick Take

Cal Fire firefighters from the San Mateo-Santa Cruz and Santa Clara units have traveled to Los Angeles County to fight the Palisades fire, which started Tuesday morning and had burned nearly 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon. Cal Fire CZU Unit Chief Jed Wilson said local fire risk is currently low, and that the personnel remaining at area stations should be adequate with the current risk level.

Firefighters from Santa Cruz County are in the Los Angeles area, where the rapidly expanding Palisades fire has overwhelmed local resources and wreaked widespread destruction.

The fire, which began at around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, has expanded rapidly ever since, the largest of several blazes in Los Angeles County. As of early Wednesday afternoon, it was at nearly 16,000 acres and has destroyed thousands of structures. Local Cal Fire teams arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning and got to work right away. Cal Fire spokesperson Cecile Juliette said the crews fought the fire all night long.

Juliette, who had not yet been to the fire line as of Wednesday morning, said she spoke with firefighters returning from their 24-hour shift who told her that it was “incredibly windy, treacherous” overnight. Those winds have been a driving force of the fire’s rapid spread.

Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit (CZU) Chief Jed Wilson said that a strike team — three CZU unit engines and two Santa Clara unit engines, along with a battalion chief, two captains and three people per engine — have been sent to Southern California. In total, 18 Cal Fire firefighters from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties are at the Palisades fire in Los Angeles. He added that seven local overhead people have been assigned, too, which include anything from supervisory positions to unit managers.

The Santa Cruz Fire Department announced on its socials Wednesday evening that it, too, is sending an engine with four personnel to fight the Eaton fire in the Altadena and Pasadena area in northeast Los Angeles. Teams from Watsonville, Scotts Valley and Central Fire have also headed to the Eaton fire. It has burned 10,590 acres as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Wilson, who remained in Santa Cruz, said he is meeting with the remaining staff to assess the current local fire threat level. He said the six engines available for local response and Cal Fire’s county stations — Corralitos, Burrell, Saratoga, Summit, Fall Creek and Big Creek — are staffed up.

“We currently have a low fire threat based on the fuel moisture,” he said, adding that crews have to keep an eye on the dry, windy weather that can bring unfavorable fire conditions. “We’re constantly monitoring that, and right now, I think we have adequate resources for the current potential that is calculated.”

Wilson said that the local firefighters currently in Los Angeles will likely be there for about two weeks, which is the typical amount of time firefighters are asked to spend helping to fight fires outside of the county. He said the maximum amount of time is usually 21 days.

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“At 14 days, we will start seeking relief for those employees and rotate folks off. That’s for their health and wellness and being away from family,” he said.

Wilson said those firefighters are still facing a major challenge, including embers being pushed by 50 mph winds: “They are extreme conditions but they’re making sure they’re providing for the firefighters’ safety and doing all they can to protect citizens, life and property.”

And even if containing the blaze might be difficult with strong winds, Wilson said firefighters are doing more than just attacking the fire directly, such as opening evacuation routes and defending as many structures as possible: “You’re going to set objectives, and life is the first one.”

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Max ChunContributing Reporter

Max Chun is the general-assignment correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Max’s position has pulled him in many different directions, seeing him cover development, COVID, the opioid crisis, labor, courts... More by Max Chun