Community Meeting Prepares Mission Canyon Residents for Fires, Wind Events, & Evacuations
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) - The densely populated Mission Canyon Community in Santa Barbara is no stranger to fire dangers, alerts or worries.
That's why the community makes it a point to get ahead of the concerns each year, which may not always be the same.
Seventeen years ago, the Jesusita Fire came from across town to burn through many homes and a portion of the Botanic Gardens.
The residents in this beautiful location snuggled next to the hills behind the Santa Barbara Mission are working closely to be as fire safe as possible.
At the annual Mission Canyon Homeowners Association meeting recently there were serious concerns about brush clearing now before hotter weather and winds. Also a worry about evacuation routes and public alerts during an emergency.
Mission Canyon Association President Hutch Axilrod said a full auditorium at the Natural History Museum for the meeting shows their high interest. "Having that many people really show up is a tribute to the concern people have around fire around an evacuation and all the things that affect us all collectively."
In June, a special chipping program will take place in coordination with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the Fire Safe Council. A staff member Charles Graham said there are funds for those who need financial assistance in their vegetation clearing. "If you are in that situation or know of someone in that situation and could use some help the fire safe council has a grant available to pay for a crew to come and do that work on your behalf."
Axilrod urges residents to know their neighbors. "We have a real connection to all of our neighbors on either a chat list or a text message list because not everyone has a two way radios on them but we do have constant communication."
The roads are very tight in the area. during Red Flag high fire conditions, some parking locations are off limits and vehicles are subject to towing to make sure the lanes are clear and additional vehicles are not turning around or jamming the lanes.
There are popular hiking trails in the area that are heavily used.
A new concern is a proposed eight-story housing plan behind the Mission, which some residents say will add to the traffic, especially during an emergency evacuation. Public comments are being emailed to Santa Barbara city staff by a June 9 deadline, prior to the next steps in the development process.
The meeting was attended by many area residents county and city fire leaders, Santa Barbara City Councilmember Kristin Sneddon and County Supervisor Roy Lee.
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