Santa Barbara Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan ready for review

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.-Since Santa Barbara Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is a mouthful it is being referred to as the CWPP.

The newly released CWPP gives Santa Barbara County Supervisors ample time to review it before voting to approve it or to send it back for improvements in May.

The plan covers more than 10,000 acres, including Mission and Barger Canyons and San Roque.

At least 3,400 people live in the area.

The most populated area is Mission Canyon where the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is located.

Local residents and garden workers remember the Jesusita Fire in 2009.

The fire, unintentionally started by a weedwacker, burned 80 homes and a portion of the garden.

The Botanic Garden Director of Education and Engagement Scot Pipkin said there are signs of the fire along the trails.

"Jesusita burned about 80 percent of Botanic Garden, "said Pipkin, "It is a reminder that our plants are resilient to fire our communities are resilient to fire but we do need to think about how we prepare for fire and how we prepare our communities and the botanical garden has been a community resource in times of fire and it is also a great example just look around all of this burned and it has come back our native plants and our native communities are resilient in the face of wildfire."

Garden Keeper and Mission Canyon resident Geege Ostroff remembers how firefighters saved his home.

Ostroff said he is looking for ward to reading the plan and learning from it.

Although most of the plan is for fire professionals, a lot of the information will help locals harden their homes and plan ahead.

Susan Davidson also credits firefighters for saving her home in the Jesusita Fire.

She said the wind were blowing 80 miles an hour back then.

Since the fire she has hardened her home by adding a metal fence and new rain gutters.

She said neighbors have held zoom calls to discuss fire evacuation plans and more.

For a link to the plan visit https://storymaps.arcgis.com

For information the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden visit https://sbbotanicgarden.org