If you see smoke billowing from the upper floors of the Granada Theatre building for a few days over the next month, don’t worry: The Santa Barbara City Fire Department is conducting a series of high-rise structure firefighting training sessions designed to keep response times down and emergency crew readiness up.
The drills will take place from 7:30–9:30 a.m. on February 12, February 26, and March 12. State Street, between Anapamu and Victoria streets, will be closed to car and bike traffic for those two hours. All sidewalk traffic on the east side of State Street will be closed, but pedestrians will have access to the west side.
Firefighters, according to a City Fire press release, will use a ladder truck and a “nontoxic theatrical smoke” will be deployed in the upper parts of the building. Businesses in the area will remain open and the fire department, the release noted, will provide volunteer escorts within the drill area.