Brush clearing now underway to prevent some fire dangers on the Central Coast later on

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The somewhat quieter fire months are also very active days for fire crews trying to get ahead of the dangers they may face in their districts later this year.

The City of Santa Barbara Fire Department is one of the agencies with crews and contractors focusing on some of the high risk areas. The city overall has made areas where fire dangers exist near populated areas.

Last week, work took place in the Honda Valley park off of Miramonte Drive to remove dry brush.

The area was in the line of fire when the TV hill Loma fire broke out in May 2021 but the flames and embers did not make it in to the brush there, stopping by just a short distance.

The Loma fire was seven acres. The Honda Park site is more than 10 times larger.

 Now a large scale vegetation removal project is underway in phases.

Mark Von Tillow, Santa Barbara City Fire Wildland Specialist says, "the winds could have carried the embers wash over here easily.  Just like in the Colorado (fire in Big Sur).   70 mile and hour winds and it was a grass component not event a brush component."

The Colorado fire in burned 700 acres. For some of the residents this was a surprise in the winter months. In the right conditions with a dry period and winds, firefighters know the threat exists in any month.

The Honda Valley project is in an area with hiking trails and deep canyons.

Santa Barbara City Fire Services Specialist, Mike Lopez says there has been a strong outreach on the project. They are starting near structures. He said, "we work closer to the homes and kind of strategically work out."

The Santa Barbara City Fire department sees this as a priority area if they can get the crews.

Lopez says, "this is the best time of the year, crews are available. That is one thing we have to work with, we work a lot with the Cal Fire crews."

Doing this work in sections changes how a fire will burn if one gets started.

Mark Von Tillow said, "like you saw with the Loma Fire when it was all going up it was one age class of fuel.  What we want to do is change the age class  so you have different heights over the years."

Fire crews have met multiple times with nearby residents who see the value to lives and property to clear down some of the this brush but still retain the rural look.

"It is just pleasant to see that neighbors are receptive to this and want to build a plan," said Lopez. "You can easily see work was done but not a  big ol' scar."

There are also targeted areas including Parma Park and around Elings Park for other fire prevention efforts.

Typically in the winter months multiple agencies will work on chipping and fuels reduction programs as a way to reduce high fire zones that could be a volatile danger later in the year.

Residents who pay a fee or assessment in their areas will get the chipping services at a significantly reduced cost.

The Montecito Fire Protection District will begin its chipping program starting February 14.