Fire Season-It’s Coming

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department is already issuing alerts to the public regarding the beginning of the 2008 Fire Season. With the official start expected to be sometime this month-fire officials from different departments are still coordinating on the specific date-it is never too early to start publicizing safety measures throughout the county.

The county has already seen roughly a dozen small vegetation fires, according to Capt. Eli Iskow, and a fire in Los Angeles County-which the county sent personnel to help fight- burned hundreds of acres and forced more than 1,000 people from their homes. The county is also coming off one of the most devastating fire seasons in its history, in no small part due to the Zaca Fire, which scorched more than 240,000 acres of backcountry.

“The firefighters of The Santa Barbara County Fire Department want to help our citizens get a head start on building their defensible space around their homes and preparing themselves to make the necessary decisions regarding what they would do if they look out of their windows and see smoke and flames nearby,” Iskow said in a press release. “Preparation is a key ingredient to life and home fire safety.”

On the county’s website, the county has tips for how to protect homes from wildfire, and also a Wildfire Action Plan.