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The #AlisalFire continues to get under control, as it is now 78 percent contained and at 17,253 acres, according to fire officials.

Unfortunately four families have lost their homes in the Gaviota area due to the fire and friends have set up GoFundMe accounts to help them recover.

One of the families that lost their homes were Landon and Mariah Smith. When the fire came through Refugio Canyon, Mariah escaped with their three-year-old daughter and her windshield cracked from the heat that was on both sides of Highway 101. Her husband Landon was hosing down his mother’s house in Arroyo Quemada Canyon and wasn’t able to save any of their belongings. Fire crews also weren’t able to get to their house in time so they lost their house along with their 30’ yurt, water tanks, solar panels, and everything else on the property. As with most mountain properties in Santa Barbara County, the fire insurance policy dropped them after Thomas Fire.

They are staying with friends and family until they can rebuild their home.

The Circle Bar B Guest Ranch also sustained damage in the fire, but thankfully they reported their main lodge, guest accommodations and horse stables are standing. They are assessing their needs and we will update when/if they are requesting help.

“A huge thank you to the firefighters and first responders who have risked their lives and are working around the clock to fight the fire,” Circle Bar B posted on their social media.

IF there are more GoFundMe’s for people who have lost their homes, let us know at news@santaynezvalleystar.com and we will update our story.

On Sunday, onshore flows will strengthen across the area, bringing cooler temperatures (10-15 degrees cooler than Saturday) and higher relative humidity.

Southerly and upvalley winds will prevail through the day on Sunday with gusts around 20 miles per hour, according to InciWeb. Late Sunday night and Monday morning, there will be a dry cold front will sweep across the area. This front will bring even cooler temperatures on Monday as well as higher relative humidity. However, it will also bring strong northwest to north winds to the fire with gusts 25-35 miles per hour likely throughout the day and evening on Monday.

Some areas of the fire are transitioning from suppression to repair, fire officials said. Resources that can be transitioned from suppression to repair will be utilized in those areas. Excess equipment will be reassigned or released.

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The plan is to keep the aerial assault and structure protection efforts for Thursday’s fire fight against the #AlisalFire, which is now at 16,801 acres and 5% containment, according to fire officials.

The projected incident activity through the next 12 hours is significant growth potential currently exists due to forecasted northwest to north winds over the fire area pushing the fire both east and west of Refugio Canyon and west of Gato Canyon.

Evacuation orders expanded overnight to include areas west of Arroyo Hondo to Highway 101/Highway 1 interchange to Vista Del Mar school, and down to Gaviota Beach. There is also an evacuation warning for Hollister Ranch, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office.

Los Padres Forest Service public information officer Andrew Madsen said the Type 1 command will be taking over Thursday and they are highly skilled at these types of wildland fires and will be beneficial into getting the upper hand on the fire. 

“Fire in Santa Barbara County is tricky, especially on the mountains where the terrain is steep. The Type 1 command will being an emphasis to logistics, supply and strategies for tightening containment,” Madsen added. 

The fire is burning in dense chaparral that hasn’t burned since the 1955 Refugio Fire and is being pushed by strong winds and growing at a rapid rate of speed. Smoke is visible throughout southern Santa Barbara County including the Santa Ynez Valley and along the Gaviota coastline. 

Air support units were called in to respond to the fire on Monday but were grounded due to severe winds, but they were able to fly much of Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday, hammering the top of the ridge with phos-chek. Helicopters joined the fire fight Tuesday morning, particularly to keep the flames away from the Reagan Ranch and surrounding properties, Madsen said.

He did say there has been one firefighter injured on this incident with a wrist issue and they self reported to Cottage Hospital for treatment.

Highway 101 is closed from Highway 1 at Las Cruces and Winchester Canyon/Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta. 

A temporary evacuation center was set up at the parking lot of Dos Pueblos High School at 7266 Alameda Avenue in Goleta. As many as 100 structures, including ranches and homes, are threatened. More information at: https://readysbc.org/2021/10/11/evacuation-warning-alisal-fire-oct-11/.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) have upgraded the Air Quality Watch to an Alert for Santa Barbara County, including the Channel Islands. Smoke and ash from the Alisal Fire is affecting air quality, and winds in the forecast are expected to push more smoke onshore. This is a dynamic situation, and local air quality conditions can change quickly.

At the Board meeting of October 12, 2021, the County of Santa Barbara proclaimed a local emergency due to the Alisal Fire.

Santa Barbara County Animal Services has been activated to assist with animal evacuations. Livestock can be taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds. Animal owners should call 805-681-4332 if assistance is needed to evacuate animals.

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A vegetation fire that broke out Monday afternoon has now reached more than 6,000 burned and still zero percent containment as of 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to fire officials.

The #AlisalFire which was originally reported to being just above Alisal reservoir, actually began at the top of the Santa Ynez Mountains on the south side of the ridge. With gusty winds sustained at 35 miles per hour and gusting to over 70 miles per hour, and in mountainous terrain not easily accessible, firefighters are having a tough battle ahead. This area also hasn’t burned since the 1950’s during the Refugio Fire of 1955, according to the Fire Safe Council.

Highway 101 remains closed as of Tuesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. The fire did reach the highway and jumped down to the beach.

“We anticipate heavy traffic on SR 154 so please give yourself extra time to get to your destination. Tractor trailer/big rigs, that exceed 65 feet are not allowed SR-154, please use I-5. No HAZMAT vehicles allowed on SR 154 as well,” CHP officials Tweeted out.

There were 100 to 120 structures threatened by the blaze as of Tuesday morning and one outbuilding was reported destroyed overnight.

There are currently more than 600 fire personnel assigned to this incident.

Evacuation orders are in effect for residents in the Refugio Canyon, including Arroyo Hondo, Tajiguas and Arroyo Quemada. The evacuation order has expanded to include El Capitan State Park and the El Capitan Campground.

An interactive evacuation map is now available for the #AlisalFire at arcg.is/1zO4m8. Enter your address at the top right field to determine if your area is under an Evacuation Order. #ReadySBC

A temporary evacuation center was set up at the parking lot of Dos Pueblos High School at 7266 Alameda Avenue in Goleta. As many as 100 structures, including ranches and homes, are threatened. More information at: https://readysbc.org/2021/10/11/evacuation-warning-alisal-fire-oct-11/.

Santa Barbara County Animal Services has been activated to assist with animal evacuations. Livestock can be taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds. Animal owners should call 805-681-4332 if assistance is needed to evacuate animals.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Watch for Santa Barbara County, including the Channel Islands. Smoke and ash from the Alisal Fire could affect local air quality. Strong winds, locally and across the state, are also stirring up dust and ash into the air. This is a dynamic situation, and local air quality conditions can change quickly. All Santa Barbara County residents are encouraged to stay alert to local conditions by visiting www.ourair.org/todays-air-quality or fire.airnow.gov.

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Staff Report

The California Fire Foundation (CFF) has announced $680,000 in wildfire safety grants to 55 local fire departments, fire agencies and community groups across the state through its Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP).

Among the agencies scheduled to receive grants are Santa Barbara County Fire Department with $10,000 to support education, planning or community outreach campaigns; and Lompoc Fire Department with $12,000 to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE).

The grants are part of a broad wildfire safety program administered and managed by the CFF.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) supports the program with $1.4 million in charitable funding. The objective is to raise awareness about wildfire safety and bring resources to underserved communities in high fire-threat areas. For a 2020 summary of the WSPP, click here.

“Once again, we are experiencing an extremely destructive wildfire season throughout the state that is impacting communities far and wide,” said Rick Martinez, executive director of the California Fire Foundation. “Grant funding from the 2021 Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program aims to bring additional resources to fire departments and local organizations to give them extra support to help keep our communities safe.”

Teresa Alvarado, PG&E Central Coast and South Bay region vice president, said: “Safety is PG&E’s most important responsibility. We are pleased to see these grants going to our community partners at Lompoc City Fire Department and Santa Barbara County Fire Department to support wildfire risk reduction efforts.”

Since 2018, 200 fire departments and fire agencies statewide have received funding through the WSPP. Funding targets specific communities identified as having extreme or elevated fire risk as identified by the California Public Utilities Commission.

“As California’s wildfire risk continues to grow, it will take all of us working together to find solutions to stop catastrophic wildfires,” PG&E’s Alvarado added. “We’re grateful to partner with CFF in supporting fire departments, other agencies and community groups to achieve that mutual objective.” 

The WSPP focuses on two key areas to help keep communities safe:

• Wildfire Safety Campaign that features fire safety education, developed by CFF, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Hmong to promote early evacuation during fires. The WSPP has worked hard to overcome language barriers by developing and distributing in-language fire-safety messaging. This campaign includes paid ads in radio, television, and digital ads, and outdoor billboards in high fire-threat areas.
• Grant Program administered by the CFF through an application process. The CFF awards grants to recipient fire departments, agencies and community groups in support of projects and programs focusing on wildfire/disaster prevention, preparedness and/or relief and recovery assistance.

PG&E’s contribution continues a four-year collaboration with CFF. PG&E has provided $4.6 million in total support for fire safety awareness through the WSPP. The charitable contribution is shareholder-funded, not funded by PG&E customers.

The CFF, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, aids firefighters, their families and the communities they protect. The CFF’s Firefighters on Your Side program, also supported by PG&E, provides multi-lingual, culturally relevant fire safety messaging in both digital and print form, to assist the public in staying safe.

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publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com

Those who were alive and conscious will remember exactly where they were on the morning of September 11, 2001. For me, I was a freshman in college and awoken to the news that a plane crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center buildings. I remember watching the smoke plumes and then screaming when I saw the second plane hit the second tower. 

Watching for hours as people tried to rescue those trapped, watching others jump out of their windows and then in utter horror as both towers came crashing down. 

Twenty years have passed since that day, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Each year I make sure to watch as the names are read and moments of silence are broadcasted because I never want to forget. I hope in the days surrounding this year, we can come together as we did in the days and months after 9/11 and remember we are Americans first above all else, and show each other compassion and understanding. 

This year the National September 11 Memorial and Museum will lead the nation to mark the passing and read the names of those we lost by family members of the fallen. There will be six moments of silence, marking when the towers were struck and fell, as well as the attacks on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93. 

The program will start at 8:30 a.m. EST and the first moment of silence will begin at 8:36 a.m. EST. The program will conclude at 1 p.m. EST and at sundown the annual “Tribute in Light” will light the sky. 

“Once a year, every year, for four hours family members and their guests have an opportunity to come to the 9/11 Memorial plaza and mourn together. Forty percent of the families of those killed at the World Trade Center have received no remains of their loved ones – the Memorial serves as a cemetery for them – the only place to grieve for their loved ones,” said Alice Greenwald, 9/11 Memorial and Museum CEO. 

Locally there will be a ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11, in the sunken gardens at the Santa Barbara Superior Court, 1100 Anacapa Street, and hosted by Teen Court of Santa Barbara County. 

“This was an honor given to us as we were one of 60 courts across America selected to host this event. We were also given 50 names of victims to read during the remembrance ceremony,” said Eduardo Cue, program manager for Teen Court of Santa Barbara County. 

UCSB Detective Kovina Avila will be singing the National Anthem and there will be a multi-agency law enforcement color guard to raise the American Flag as well as a 9/11 Flag of Honor with the names of all the victims from the towers, the Pentagon and Flight 93. 

Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Adams will be moderating the event. 

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By Raiza Giorgi

publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com

Even though the Dixie Fire continues to burn hundreds of miles from the Santa Ynez Valley, the effects are being felt locally as several native Valley residents’ homes have burned and/or are displaced from their homes. 

“My son Nick has been a wildland firefighter since he graduated high school (Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Class of 2000). Nick and his girlfriend Taylor Storey have lost everything in the Dixie Fire,” said Anne Bunch, former head chef for New Frontiers until her retirement. 

The Dixie Fire started July 13 and is burning in four Northern California counties: Butte, Lassen, Plumas and Tehama. As of Aug. 18, it has burned 626,751 acres and is 31% contained, according to the website InciWeb, the Incident Information System (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/). The cause is still under investigation. 

Nick Bunch is a division chief for the U.S. Forest Service in the Lake Almanor Ranger District in the Lassen National Forest. He and Storey moved to Greenville early this year and started a farm, where they hoped to build a therapy farm. 

The entire town of Greenville was lost Aug. 4, when the Dixie Fire rolled through. More than 75% of the town’s buildings were destroyed and the infrastructure is gone, according to news reports. 

“Nick is currently on the fire so he cannot talk about our situation, and we really haven’t had a chance to process what happened,” Storey said in a phone interview. “Luckily our property didn’t burn down, but all our belongings are completely destroyed from smoke damage, and we won’t be allowed back in for quite a while until it’s deemed ‘safe.’ I’ve evacuated three times now, and it takes a toll emotionally.” 

Storey added the situation is surreal as she has spent many hours with fire victims who lost everything, particularly from the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California — the deadliest and most destructive in the state’s history. 

“After grad school I studied social work at Chico State and we got together and went to camps and engaged in needs assessments for fire victims and helped them connect to local resources,” she said. “I also was a Camp Fire recovery counselor and connected people to resources and helped with trauma debriefing. Basically helping people get out of the ‘fight or flight’ response.” 

Story met Bunch when she took a behavioral health job in Plumas County in 2019 and they have been together since. 

“When we moved to the farm in Greenville, we wanted to just live simply,” she said. “I did canning, and we had just gotten two goats and were fostering a heifer cow and we were studying food and permaculture.”

Storey added their goal was to buy property in Indian Valley and start a horticultural therapy institute. 

“Well, that might happen sooner than later, but for now I am just living in the moment and trying to deal with insurance companies. Wish me luck,” she said. 

Storey added the outpouring of support from people from the Valley has been incredible. 

“I come from a small town where everyone knows each other, and it’s comforting to know people care, thank you to everyone who has helped. We will pay it forward,” she said. 

Nick’s mother set up a GoFundMe and they are almost to the goal of $20,000. 

As the news of Anne Bunch’s son’s loss wasn’t enough, her grandson Thomas Harden (of Santa Barbara) and his girlfriend also lived in Greenville on the property of another Valley native, Jordan Townsend, and they all lost their homes in the same fire. Harden is on the Hotshot crew and also working the Dixie Fire, according to his grandmother. 

This is the link for Harden’s GoFundMe, 

“Our family and the Townsend family has had a really rough and traumatic few weeks,” Anne Bunch said. ‘I just hope the funds can help them a little bit of rebuilding their lives.” 

Townsend has worked for the USFS for more than 20 years and for the Plumas National Forest for 15 years, according to the GoFundMe set up for him and his wife Julie. 

The post Effects of Dixie Fire hit home in Santa Ynez Valley appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Staff Report

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD), in conjunction with all other local fire jurisdictions, will declare the beginning of the 2021 high fire season for all areas of Santa Barbara County on May 3. 

During high fire season, all burn permits issued for residential burning and hazard reduction will be suspended. In addition, the SBCFD will be increasing the number of resources (e.g., engines, dozers, crews, helicopters, etc.) responding to reported vegetation fires. 

The SBCFD is urging everyone who lives, works, and visits Santa Barbara County to be extra vigilant about fire safety this season. 

County Fire said the 2020-21 rainy season yielded 47% of the county’s normal rainfall, which has resulted in significantly drier fuels. Combined with dry seasonal grasses for this time of year, this poses a significant risk for ignition and growth of a vegetation fire. 

The State of California has made available $165 million in grants in 2021 to develop and carry out fire prevention projects throughout the state. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department is actively applying for this funding to continue to build upon our already robust prevention programs within the county. 

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department reminds the public to maintain vegetation clearance around structures, review and be familiar with the “Ready! Set! Go!” wildfire action plan, and be extra cautious and aware when traveling or staying in the wildland areas of the county. 

For more information about Ready! Set! Go! please visit www.sbcfire.com. 

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Noozhawk Staff Writer

Leaders from the Santa Barbara County Fire Chiefs Association came together recently to create three workgroups with the goal of addressing major fire safety concerns on a regional level.

“We came together as fire chiefs and realized that we’re all kind of working on these areas of concerns independently. Unfortunately, when we come up with solutions independently, it puts unintended consequences or impacts on our neighboring jurisdictions,” Mark Hartwig, chief of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, told Noozhawk. “Greg Fish (Carpinteria-Summerland Fire chief) thought, ‘Why don’t we just get our staffs together and identify the fire and life safety issues and see if we can address them regionally?’ That way we have a regional set of standards that we can take back to policymakers.”

Fish told Noozhawk: “I tried to come up with an idea where we have all of the people representing these different agencies come together and come up with solutions.”

After collaborating with community members, stakeholders and the various fire departments, the fire chiefs association identified three main issues to tackle: access and parking at county trailheads and beaches, dispersed camping, and fires and other safety issues associated with homeless encampments.

“We’ve found that the more closely we work together on common issues, the easier it is for everyone involved because the communities are so intertwined,” Kevin Taylor, chief of the Montecito Fire Protection District, told Noozhawk.

Taylor is leading the workgroup focused on trailhead access and parking. Rob Hazard, division chief for Santa Barbara County Fire, is heading the dispersed camping workgroup, and Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Marshal Rob Rappaport is overseeing the homeless encampments group.

“The goal of the task force is that the three groups will present recommendations, provide them to the county chiefs, and then forward them to the respective elected bodies,” Hazard said.

The workgroup started more centered on homeless encampments and concerns about the associated fire risks they pose, according to Hazard. From Jan. 1 through Dec. 1 last year, the county fire department responded to 45 calls related to fires at homeless encampments, Hazard said, and 12 of those incidents were wildfires.

As the fire chiefs looked deeper into that issue, they began to notice some spin-off into other related issues of importance, Hazard said.

Dispersed camping was a nexus to the homeless encampment issue, as a lot of residents began to notice a big increase in overnight camping on the side of the road, he added. The Cave Fire of 2019 was human-caused, and the use of campfires in the mountains pose an extreme fire risk. 

Because most of the dispersed camping happens on national forest public land, county fire services don’t have enforcement authority. The camping workgroup is meeting with Los Padres National Forest staff to figure out how they can collaborate together, Hazard said.

“Part of these workgroups is identifying who has the authority to carry out regulations and what options are available to that stakeholder group,” he added.

Segueing from dispersed camping, the overcrowded parking at county trailheads and beaches was the third issue identified. With the increased use of the trailheads, access to the mountains becomes more restricted, which can pose a problem for the fire departments in the face of an emergency.

“Right now, we’re in the discovery stage,” Taylor said. “We have information from community members, fire marshals and other stakeholders, and now we’re putting those together and checking in with the agencies responsible for implementation.”

In early February, the workgroups will regroup and bring back objectives based on the three priorities to provide possible recommendations for the respective elected officials or agencies, Fish said.

“It’s a work in process, but it will really bring clarity as it relates to public safety,” he added. “We need to deal with these issues so that people don’t die, get severely injured or create a greater hazard. That’s unacceptable.” 

Hartwig said: “This will at least give us a uniform set of recommendations in the sense that the same actions we take in one jurisdiction would ideally be standard across others. That way we wouldn’t have those unintended consequences.”

Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com.

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*Update – All lanes of Highway 101 at Mariposa Reina are open, according to Caltrans.

With the significant amount of rainfall occurring Wednesday into Thursday, several areas of Highway 101 have become impacted by water causing flooding issues. Residents in the Nojoqui area have reported to the Star more than 10 inches of rain since Wednesday morning.

The California Highway Patrol urged that drivers be sure to increase following distance and brake early.

“Before you depart, check that your tires are properly inflated, in good working order, and have enough tread depth,” according to the CHP Santa Barbara Twitter page.

Flooding was reported Thursday morning near Mariposa Reina, just south of the Gaviota tunnel, also near the Pork Palace just south of Buellton. Caltrans has closed Highway 101 north at Mariposa Reina due to flooding, southbound remains open, according to spokesman Jim Shivers.

“There is no estimate for re-opening. Please drive carefully and be aware of Caltrans highway workers, law enforcement and emergency responders,” Shivers said.

There was also an accident with no injuries on the southbound side of Highway 101 at Nojoqui Grade around 9:15 a.m. Thursday, according to CHP Traffic alerts.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department offers the following tips to help keep you and your passengers safe while driving on wet roads: 

• Know how to recover from a skid. Remember not to slam on the brakes. Apply
  firm, steady pressure to the brakes and steer the car in the direction of the skid. 
• Keep your distance from the car ahead. It takes about three times longer to
  break on wet roads than on dry roads. 
• Turn your headlights on. Not only do they help you see the road, but they’ll help
  other drivers see you. 
• First rains make the road very slippery. First rains make the roads the most
  difficult to drive on as mud and oil combine with water to form a slippery layer. 
• Dry your brakes after driving through standing water. If you have driven
  through standing water, apply the brakes lightly for a short time to dry them. 
• Make sure your wipers are in good condition and functioning properly. California law requires that if you have your wipers on, your vehicle headlights must also be on. 

Taking these simple tips into account can save your life. 

The post Several areas of flooding on Highway 101 near Buellton, CHP urges caution appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Santa Barbara County Fire Department will be conducting a state-sanctioned vegetation management burn starting Monday, December 7, through Wednesday, December 9,  on the Spaulding Ranch in the area between Tims Road and Midland School in the Santa Ynez Valley.

The post SBC Fire to conduct prescribed burns near Midland School Dec. 7 appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.