Drying herbs serves as a warning of fire season with little time to lose

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – You don't need to see flames in the hills to know fire season is here. You just need to see brown grass and worry inwardly about strong winds.

The turning point is happening. Beautiful green hills and colorful spring flowers give way to vegetation that firefighters often call fuel.

City of Santa Barbara wildfire specialist Mark VonTillow stood on the Douglas Family Preserve, surrounded by tall vegetation and trees, and said, “When it dries, then what you see behind me turns essentially a big field of grass. And that's not good for fire behavior.”

The city has targeted many parks, particularly those adjacent to homes, to create defensible space.

Monique O'Conner, Open Space Planner for the City of Santa Barbara, said, “Some of the spaces where you will see this work done are Parma Park, Honda Valley, Douglas Family Preserve, just to name a few. And yes, 18 stations across the country. city. And we are finishing this work now.

In some cases, a four-pronged approach was taken in areas too difficult for some fire crews to reach. This includes goats and sheep from companies specializing in this type of fuel management.

“These are preserves and we want them to function in the natural way that they should. But in spaces where we're right in the middle of this urban and wild interface, it's a good space for us to intervene and better protect our natural ecosystems,” O’Conner said.

In high fire areas, some residents or neighborhood associations pay for their own goats or sheep through programs that will help everyone nearby and have defensible space for arriving fire crews.

From what has been observed so far, if there is a fire, especially in windy weather, it will be a challenge for frontline firefighters.

Vontillow said: “They make a big difference, not only is it strategic for firefighters to step in and take a position, but also for a fire that is spreading in an area that has been treated. The behavior of the fire is established , allows us to attack him.”

There have already been serious concerns. Vontillow said, “I saw cigarette butts here on the trail.”

“Many homeowners have cleared brush and dry grass from required areas. For those who have not, starting June 1, I will likely send a letter to some people who need to do their weeding, depending on the area in which they are located, the coast, the interior of the coast, the foothills or extremely different distances.

These clearances can range from 30 to 100 feet.

On Monday, Central Coast fire services will declare a peak fire season.