Planned burns scheduled this week in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Planned burns of one to ten piles of brush per day are scheduled throughout this week until the end of Feb. 14 in Santa Barbara County.

The burns will occur near Figueroa Mountain and various other forest locations. You can stay up-to-date with the locations on the Los Padres Twitter account every day.

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) said burning operations will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. on each permissive burn day.

The goal of the daily pile burns is to reduce the risk of wildfire. Prescribed, or planned, fires typically burn less intensely than wildfires. Prescribed burns can also help to prevent the spread of wildfires and reduce impacts to watersheds that can result in soil loss and sedimentation.

The burns will be conducted when the weather is likely to direct smoke away from population centers. If the conditions are not as desired, the burn will be rescheduled.

This burn is planned and coordinated by the Los Padres National Forest with Santa Barbara County APCD, San Luis Obispo County APCD, San Joaquin Valley APCD, Ventura County APCD and the California Air Resources Board in order to minimize impacts on air quality on surrounding communities.