Monday, August 06, 2007

Montecito Fire Meeting

For those of you that live in Montecito -- The Independent's J'Amy Brown posted this earlier today:

Dear Montecito Neighbor ~ You have probably received several emails today (and I may have posted you twice here in my haste) about a townhall meeting tomorrow night at El Montecito Prsby Church, organized by Montecito Fire District. The meeting will address facts and procedures regarding the Zaca fire, as it pertains to Montecito.  I have now posted a story on Indy so you can email this link to your neighbors.  I spoke with Kevin Wallace this evening, and there is no immediate danger, but by attending this meeting, you can get the current facts, see some maps, and learn how to be prepared for this emergency or others. Thanks, and DO stay safe! J'Amy
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/aug/05/zaca-fire-information-meeting/
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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8/06/2007 10:30 PM

    You know, Sara, the web rocks...nearly 500 showed up at Montecito Fire District's meeting...ALL of them alerted by email, and websites. Thank you, Sara, for being a part of this emergency solution...as we are all pushed to learn new ways to communicate and share our news in SB. I guess we should feel blessed to live in interesting times!--J'Amy

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  2. Sara De la Guerra8/06/2007 10:35 PM

    Unfortunately, I unkowingly read your comment to post a bit late and hope this could be a place to talk about what happened...thank you for rallying the community!

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  3. Anonymous8/07/2007 5:56 PM

    This, from a friend who has a second-hand report from the Montecito meeting.

    Some of you may have attended last night's Town Hall meeting in
    Montecito related to the Zaca Fire, but many of you may not yet be
    aware of all of the changing conditions of this fire as it relates to
    those of us who live and/or work in Santa Barbara, Goleta, and
    Montecito. If you are not already aware, this email is to help alert
    you, as many people in the Santa Barbara area (and those who commute
    into the Santa Barbara area for work) may not realize that the
    situation has elevated to a higher alert status. According to one
    source who attended last night's meeting, the situation "appears
    grim".



    Here's the status as of early Monday evening:



    1) The Zaca Fire is 3 miles from the Santa Ynez River and
    another 2 miles from Camino Cielo Ridge. For those of you who may not
    know, Camino Cielo Ridge is the ridge of the mountains that we can all
    see from State Street, Hollister Avenue, the 101 Freeway - i.e. from
    almost anywhere in town. This means that the fire as of Monday
    evening was only 5 miles away from our line of vision.

    2) The major power source for all of Santa Barbara, Goleta and
    Montecito lies between the Santa Ynez River and Camino Cielo Ridge.
    If the fire jumps the river, there is a very high probability that we
    will all end up without power.

    3) There are three major lines of defense against the fire - at
    the edge of the fire itself, at the Santa Ynez River, and at Camino
    Cielo Ridge.

    4) All day Monday and Tuesday of this week, fire trucks and
    equipment will be moving into the area from around the state to help
    fight the fire. You may see them as they drive around getting to know
    the area, looking for the best strategies and lines of defense for the
    town should the fire get to the ridge. I spoke with a fireman from
    one unit myself yesterday (Monday) - his unit had come in from
    Yosemite and said that they were part of the "strike force" being
    brought into the area to try to protect our shelters if the fire gets
    to the ridge.

    5) Wednesday and Thursday of this week are expected to be very
    hot with high winds - possibly "sundowners". For those of you who
    remember the Painted Cave fire in 1991, it was "sundowner" winds that
    caused the fire to move so rapidly down the hill into Santa Barbara.



    Here's what's most important to know: If the fire gets to the Santa
    Ynez River, an "evacuation warning" will be issued and everyone will
    be urged to start taking measures to leave town. The fire department
    does not want everyone waiting until the last minute to pack up their
    valuables and start heading out of town. If the fire gets to Camino
    Cielo Ridge, an "evacuation order" will be issued and people will have
    6 HOURS to "get out of Dodge". The Police will start canvassing
    neighborhoods with loud speakers and everyone had better pay
    attention, because the fire department doesn't want anyone but
    themselves and the police left in town when the fire gets to the
    bottom of that ridge. The fire is too wide and too intense. They
    don't want to be worrying about saving lives while they are also
    worrying about saving the town's structures.



    This period of staying alert could last a good week or things could
    happen faster.



    So, it has been recommended that we all start preparing whatever we'll
    want to take with us if we need to leave. That means photos, client
    files, and anything else that you can't afford to lose. And families
    need to start developing game plans so that everyone can be found and
    gathered up in a hurry if a move becomes necessary. It would be smart
    to keep your cars full of gas, to pack bottled water to take with you,
    and perhaps keep a battery-powered transistor radio and flashlight
    nearby.



    It is apparent from the 6:30 pm news I watched last night on KEYT-TV
    that the media as of Monday evening had not yet caught up with all of
    the latest news of the fire, even though they were reporting that the
    Town Hall Meeting in Montecito was taking place. I called one
    newspaper myself about mid-day on Monday (yesterday), after my
    conversation with the fireman from Yosemite, to see if they knew what
    was going on and they had not yet heard. Hopefully, more will be
    reported on Tuesday, but in case it is not, the following websites
    could be useful to you:



    1) http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/activefiremaps (click on "Active
    Fire Maps" in the left hand column, then click on the # 7 that appears
    on the map of California). While the site states that the fire is 68%
    contained (also reported by the media), it also says that the fire has
    burned 63,350 acres to date (a "43% increase from yesterday" - meaning
    from Sunday) and "A Continuous Fuelbed Lies Ahead Of The Fire's
    Dominant Spread Direction." The "Current Detections" link in the left
    hand column of the Home page will take you to a second map that shows
    a "Red Flag Warning".



    2) http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/fireplots/cgb2007216_0700.jpg will
    take you to an additional page with a visual map of the fire - where
    it's been, where it is now, and its proximity to the Santa Ynez River.



    3) http://www.countyofsb.org/index.asp has links to written updates
    about the fire. Monday evening's update says in part "Cal-Fire
    arrived as contingency support with 10 strike teams of 5 engines each
    for local efforts and has established a base camp at the Earl Warren
    Show Grounds. Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Scherrei said, "Cal-Fire
    has set forth a massive effort in the event that the front county
    communities are threatened. Cal-Fire presence will be seen throughout
    the area as they familiarize themselves with the front county
    communities. Community members should feel free to ask any Cal-Fire
    staff questions about the Zaca fire. ... For specific updates on the
    Zaca Fire, the public can call the Zaca Fire Public Information Line
    at (805) 961-5770 or go online to www.inciweb.org or
    www.countyofsb.org or www.sbcfire.com.

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