Thank you, Michael. My parents bought a house in Goleta in 1961 and I live there now. This is a huge concern to me. Goleta is branded by its elected officials as The Goodland, but they allow it to be treated by Santa Barbara as The Dumping Land. There has been zero planning that takes emergencies like fires into consideration. It's just where affordable housing should spring ip. It's just where the airport should expand with zero regard for air and noise pollution over Goleta. It's just where they should be able to wreck Old Town Goleta's main road, Hollister, and parking on it, to please the bicycle lobby. It has broken my heart over the decades to watch this treatment of Goleta. And the danger of fire destroying it has been on my mind - I also grew up in Altadena and the entire block my childhood home was on is gone from the fire there, like a bomb was dropped on it. I really appreciate your excellent article. So what do we concerned Goletans do?
Sorry about your childhood home being destroyed in Altadena. I went through a similar experience with a home I remembered when I was about three years old in Dorset, Vermont back around 1948. In 1976 I found the house but in the late 1980's I couldn't locate it. Later I found an aerial photo of a module to our house on a then empty street where our home was to be built at the end of the dead-end street. The picture also showed a marble quarry, a pond and railroad tracks. With these places and creating coordinates from the aerial photo, I was able to determine what happened to our home. Using Google Maps, I discovered a new freeway, and interchange replaced our home's entire street of many homes. In fact, I was able to determine where our home was along the freeway. And there was a bit of a remnant of the access to our street from the original road-turned freeway. I have no idea what happened to all the homes. It's sad that personal memories are ripped away. I guess it's progress. The order of our importance can be modified in the order of humans then trees to freeways, humans-then trees<g>.
Wow … that bites. I used to love driving up to Vermont from NYC. I liked taking the back roads, not the freeways. The only freeway I liked in New England was the Taconic, which was beautifully designed.
Ann and I liked the Von Trapp Hotel's food in VT. Nice place. At three I have memories of crawling around inside a side loaded washer or dryer located outside. Or looking at all the blue-colored refrigeration compressors on pallets in the garage under the house ... my dad at the time did refrigeration work, but farmers wanted to pay via the barter system (refrigeration system parts for corn), back to MA we go. My dad had my older sister apologize to a neighbor for the time when I emptied the buckets of "water" hanging on the side of maple trees. Thought I was doing a favor <g>. I found a picture of my sister riding a cow ... but she really loved horses.
Does anyone find the State of Calif. "demands" for high density housing to be contrary to rational planning in locations like this?
Does anyone find the changes proposed by the majority in Sac. to allow high density multi-story building right next to the forest interface to be stupid?
Does anyone find the narrowing of streets and reduced capacity necessary for emergency response by City Councils and Sac. planning to be stupid?
Think about it. Downtown Santa Barbara has crashed and getting worse because of traffic gird destruction. Old Town Goleta is watching single owner businesses following the path of Death Valley (aka State St.)
Mr. Mills concerns about water and fire are reasonable, but at the same time who allowed the current density next to these trees? When it is pointed out the danger and removal would solve the issue the response is the butterfly.
Mr. Mills points out Paradise CA, as a classic example. micro roundabouts, corner bulbouts when faced with dense smoke people could not see and depended on efficient streets contributed to the death toll (Cal Fire).
His call for 3 actions (access road, more hydrants, utilities) is a band aid for critically bad long term planning. Either the trees go or the housing goes.
It is only a matter of time. Anyone remember the Painted Cave fire? Plenty of fuel, right winds and it blew right over Hollister and almost to the beach.
Still want more high density housing? Still want high density without resources like water and ability of people to get out of dodge?
Still want more UCSB students that are crushing the housing market?
Still want to vote for the people who demand more density? Plenty to think about.
I have now learned whenever the government labels their demands as a "crisis", it is time to hold on to our pocketbooks. And demand they lower the tone of hysteria.
Thanks Michael for helping Fire Hydrant 26 get its message out on proactive ways to avoid the expansion of a fire. Of course fire insurance is important but by the time you need it you have already suffered a crisis. The controlling political party in California is currently demonstrating yet another risk of suffering a fire: you may not be able to obtain the permits to rebuild.
Good luck with this Mr. Mills, and I mean this sincerely. The recent inferno disaster in Pacific Palisades, illustrates how unprepared local governments can become. Your wishlist of things to be done to mitigate another tragedy is commendable, but where is the money supposed to come from? The City of Goleta is already tapped out, spending enormous amounts on bike lanes and “Project Connect.’ In addition, the plan to bring another fire station on Hollister and C. Oaks online seems to be on permanent hold.
BTW, has the SBCOFD conducted tests on the one and only fire hydrant? Does it even work? Or will it be a repeat of PP and no water comes out?
As for home fire insurance, it would seem many insurance carriers are looking for reason to dump homeowner policies. Why? Because the State of California, specifically, the Insurance Commission has made doing business here so confusing and toxic that companies are simply leaving the state.
Dear # 26. You are absolutely correct in your assessment in my opinion. It's obviously a matter of recognizing and prioritizing, and then allocating. Would you consider running for office??
Wonderful story - and truly there are many plants, animals and even objects around us who think…… how unconscious, conceitful and just plain dumb those human have become. They have ‘devolved’
Off topic but still breaking local news: City of Ventura to re-open their downtown pedestrian mall to cars, due loss of revenues and protests by business and property owners. Claims it was a failed experiment.
Another follow up about Nordstrom leaving Santa Monica, also reports the failure of Santa Monica's often-touted pedestrian Third Street Mall. 86% of the local population now refuses to shop downtown, due to its increasing unsavoriness, mainly caused by the increasing vagrant populations who congregate there.
I can’t believe that non-native, explosive trees are being planted anywhere in the USA. They should be replaced by native plants. In this case, native milkweed makes more sense in the area where you live. Butterflies love it.
Is it really worth the fire risk for butterfly-peeping at the trees for their very short season?
I agree with your opinion. Must be a case of Tree Hugging Disease. Butterflies are not about to become extinct <g>. Probably most tree huggers don't have homes. Ask the homeowners of Los Angeles what they think about tress.
Dear Hydrant 26, Have you been tested lately? Do you have enough dependable, water capacity and water pressure to put out this potential conflagration?
My home fire insurance policy was cancelled last Fall at the same time that the policies of the residents of Pacific Palisades lost theirs. Large swaths of Santa Barbara were designated high fire risk, throwing me into the CA Fair Plan. I'd sure feel better if the massive reservoir located in Alta Mesa, between the Mesa and Valerio Canyon, hadn't been drained 20 years ago and left empty by the local water department. That department's spokesperson told me not to worry, it is more efficient to rely on water brought across town from the reservoirs at the base of the mountains. I tried to suggest that gravity-fed water on site was better than pumping water a mile when perhaps the electricity might be compromised, but he repeated the talking points he'd been primed to say. For fun take a look at the Google Map and find Escondido Park on Calle Canon, and look at the huge unmarked blue rectangle next to it. That's the tragic empty reservoir. Surely anyone responsible for this mismanagement will be enjoying their retirement when the inevitable fire happens. https://www.google.com/maps/@34.4112805,-119.727475,18z?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Outside of installing awesome firefighting equipment designed for tree fires, I'm first for the safety of the homeowner and the homes. Homes placed next to these trees is essentially placing these homes and occupants in great potential danger. As the trees stand now, they should eventually go to being cut down to a safe population level. Humans first, trees second.
Thank your for reminding us what actual hard infrastructure a city/county needs to provide its residents when allocating our tax dollars. Not just the soft-fuzzy, virtue signaling, make-work activities used primarily for re-election campaign photo ops.
Michael, who owns that grove? Perhaps like they are doing on Santa Cruz island and other parts of the State, they should be removing those non-native, invasive, and fire-prone trees. Or at least managing the grove to help mitigate some of those issues?
Managing the grove, removing non-native, invasive trees TJ? Who, the City of Goleta? To do all this while the City has trouble even maintaining streets?
Oh well, but we do have a City DEI coordinator making $200k/yr.
Good question - is the grove on City property? Undergrounding power lines and adding more hydrants isn't going to be free either. Perhaps part of the diversity training could include chainsaw usage?
Very simple TJ, “Biodiversity” over saving lives and property. Once again in California, the Environmentalists calls the shots. Meanwhile, we have feckless, cowardly politicians that refuse to lead. Lastly, the Endangered Species Act” actually endangers human beings!
They are following their agenda no matter what the long term effect or the will of the people. Perhaps the new coming head count’ in voter roll will insure a much needed change
There has been a lot of dead tree removal over the last few years. I recall at first signs warning to enter at your own risk due to falling dead trees due to long term drought...global warm....crisis.... bla....burble....burp. Since then the city has removed tons of dead trees and significantly thinned the grove. I have been hiking there since the 1980's so this is what I have observed.
Excuse me, hydrant 26, but I forgot to say one other thing, regarding Jeffrey Epstein, Pam Bondi, and two-week taco. Bondi and taco are doubling down, so as it is said, I have to say “the lady doth protest too much methinks”.
Thank you, Michael. My parents bought a house in Goleta in 1961 and I live there now. This is a huge concern to me. Goleta is branded by its elected officials as The Goodland, but they allow it to be treated by Santa Barbara as The Dumping Land. There has been zero planning that takes emergencies like fires into consideration. It's just where affordable housing should spring ip. It's just where the airport should expand with zero regard for air and noise pollution over Goleta. It's just where they should be able to wreck Old Town Goleta's main road, Hollister, and parking on it, to please the bicycle lobby. It has broken my heart over the decades to watch this treatment of Goleta. And the danger of fire destroying it has been on my mind - I also grew up in Altadena and the entire block my childhood home was on is gone from the fire there, like a bomb was dropped on it. I really appreciate your excellent article. So what do we concerned Goletans do?
Sorry about your childhood home being destroyed in Altadena. I went through a similar experience with a home I remembered when I was about three years old in Dorset, Vermont back around 1948. In 1976 I found the house but in the late 1980's I couldn't locate it. Later I found an aerial photo of a module to our house on a then empty street where our home was to be built at the end of the dead-end street. The picture also showed a marble quarry, a pond and railroad tracks. With these places and creating coordinates from the aerial photo, I was able to determine what happened to our home. Using Google Maps, I discovered a new freeway, and interchange replaced our home's entire street of many homes. In fact, I was able to determine where our home was along the freeway. And there was a bit of a remnant of the access to our street from the original road-turned freeway. I have no idea what happened to all the homes. It's sad that personal memories are ripped away. I guess it's progress. The order of our importance can be modified in the order of humans then trees to freeways, humans-then trees<g>.
Wow … that bites. I used to love driving up to Vermont from NYC. I liked taking the back roads, not the freeways. The only freeway I liked in New England was the Taconic, which was beautifully designed.
Ann and I liked the Von Trapp Hotel's food in VT. Nice place. At three I have memories of crawling around inside a side loaded washer or dryer located outside. Or looking at all the blue-colored refrigeration compressors on pallets in the garage under the house ... my dad at the time did refrigeration work, but farmers wanted to pay via the barter system (refrigeration system parts for corn), back to MA we go. My dad had my older sister apologize to a neighbor for the time when I emptied the buckets of "water" hanging on the side of maple trees. Thought I was doing a favor <g>. I found a picture of my sister riding a cow ... but she really loved horses.
Get a great City Manager.
I'd take even a mediocre one that can't be bought…
I'd even go with a good City Manager that can be bought for the right reasons <g>.
They all think they're doing it for the right reasons even being bought.
Does anyone find the State of Calif. "demands" for high density housing to be contrary to rational planning in locations like this?
Does anyone find the changes proposed by the majority in Sac. to allow high density multi-story building right next to the forest interface to be stupid?
Does anyone find the narrowing of streets and reduced capacity necessary for emergency response by City Councils and Sac. planning to be stupid?
Think about it. Downtown Santa Barbara has crashed and getting worse because of traffic gird destruction. Old Town Goleta is watching single owner businesses following the path of Death Valley (aka State St.)
Mr. Mills concerns about water and fire are reasonable, but at the same time who allowed the current density next to these trees? When it is pointed out the danger and removal would solve the issue the response is the butterfly.
Mr. Mills points out Paradise CA, as a classic example. micro roundabouts, corner bulbouts when faced with dense smoke people could not see and depended on efficient streets contributed to the death toll (Cal Fire).
His call for 3 actions (access road, more hydrants, utilities) is a band aid for critically bad long term planning. Either the trees go or the housing goes.
It is only a matter of time. Anyone remember the Painted Cave fire? Plenty of fuel, right winds and it blew right over Hollister and almost to the beach.
Still want more high density housing? Still want high density without resources like water and ability of people to get out of dodge?
Still want more UCSB students that are crushing the housing market?
Still want to vote for the people who demand more density? Plenty to think about.
I have now learned whenever the government labels their demands as a "crisis", it is time to hold on to our pocketbooks. And demand they lower the tone of hysteria.
Thanks Michael for helping Fire Hydrant 26 get its message out on proactive ways to avoid the expansion of a fire. Of course fire insurance is important but by the time you need it you have already suffered a crisis. The controlling political party in California is currently demonstrating yet another risk of suffering a fire: you may not be able to obtain the permits to rebuild.
Good luck with this Mr. Mills, and I mean this sincerely. The recent inferno disaster in Pacific Palisades, illustrates how unprepared local governments can become. Your wishlist of things to be done to mitigate another tragedy is commendable, but where is the money supposed to come from? The City of Goleta is already tapped out, spending enormous amounts on bike lanes and “Project Connect.’ In addition, the plan to bring another fire station on Hollister and C. Oaks online seems to be on permanent hold.
BTW, has the SBCOFD conducted tests on the one and only fire hydrant? Does it even work? Or will it be a repeat of PP and no water comes out?
As for home fire insurance, it would seem many insurance carriers are looking for reason to dump homeowner policies. Why? Because the State of California, specifically, the Insurance Commission has made doing business here so confusing and toxic that companies are simply leaving the state.
Yes, this is what people have voted for.
Dear # 26. You are absolutely correct in your assessment in my opinion. It's obviously a matter of recognizing and prioritizing, and then allocating. Would you consider running for office??
Brilliant‼️CJC
Wonderful story - and truly there are many plants, animals and even objects around us who think…… how unconscious, conceitful and just plain dumb those human have become. They have ‘devolved’
Off topic but still breaking local news: City of Ventura to re-open their downtown pedestrian mall to cars, due loss of revenues and protests by business and property owners. Claims it was a failed experiment.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ventura-s-main-street-to-reopen-to-traffic-property-owners-say-revenue-losses-a-factor/ar-AA1Itd39?ocid=socialshare
Another follow up about Nordstrom leaving Santa Monica, also reports the failure of Santa Monica's often-touted pedestrian Third Street Mall. 86% of the local population now refuses to shop downtown, due to its increasing unsavoriness, mainly caused by the increasing vagrant populations who congregate there.
Thanks, J. That's good to know. Perhaps Santa Barbara next?
Ha, Ha, I saw the story on KEYT and sent a clip to my favorite city council member, I said, "Forward this to your colleagues on the dais."
Ha, ha, Sorry for the non-breaking news. This is what jet lag does to someone at 2AM, when they are catching up on the local news.
I can’t believe that non-native, explosive trees are being planted anywhere in the USA. They should be replaced by native plants. In this case, native milkweed makes more sense in the area where you live. Butterflies love it.
Is it really worth the fire risk for butterfly-peeping at the trees for their very short season?
I agree with your opinion. Must be a case of Tree Hugging Disease. Butterflies are not about to become extinct <g>. Probably most tree huggers don't have homes. Ask the homeowners of Los Angeles what they think about tress.
Dear Hydrant 26, Have you been tested lately? Do you have enough dependable, water capacity and water pressure to put out this potential conflagration?
My home fire insurance policy was cancelled last Fall at the same time that the policies of the residents of Pacific Palisades lost theirs. Large swaths of Santa Barbara were designated high fire risk, throwing me into the CA Fair Plan. I'd sure feel better if the massive reservoir located in Alta Mesa, between the Mesa and Valerio Canyon, hadn't been drained 20 years ago and left empty by the local water department. That department's spokesperson told me not to worry, it is more efficient to rely on water brought across town from the reservoirs at the base of the mountains. I tried to suggest that gravity-fed water on site was better than pumping water a mile when perhaps the electricity might be compromised, but he repeated the talking points he'd been primed to say. For fun take a look at the Google Map and find Escondido Park on Calle Canon, and look at the huge unmarked blue rectangle next to it. That's the tragic empty reservoir. Surely anyone responsible for this mismanagement will be enjoying their retirement when the inevitable fire happens. https://www.google.com/maps/@34.4112805,-119.727475,18z?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Outside of installing awesome firefighting equipment designed for tree fires, I'm first for the safety of the homeowner and the homes. Homes placed next to these trees is essentially placing these homes and occupants in great potential danger. As the trees stand now, they should eventually go to being cut down to a safe population level. Humans first, trees second.
Thank your for reminding us what actual hard infrastructure a city/county needs to provide its residents when allocating our tax dollars. Not just the soft-fuzzy, virtue signaling, make-work activities used primarily for re-election campaign photo ops.
Michael, who owns that grove? Perhaps like they are doing on Santa Cruz island and other parts of the State, they should be removing those non-native, invasive, and fire-prone trees. Or at least managing the grove to help mitigate some of those issues?
https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn/upload/brochure_eucalyptus.pdf
Managing the grove, removing non-native, invasive trees TJ? Who, the City of Goleta? To do all this while the City has trouble even maintaining streets?
Oh well, but we do have a City DEI coordinator making $200k/yr.
Good question - is the grove on City property? Undergrounding power lines and adding more hydrants isn't going to be free either. Perhaps part of the diversity training could include chainsaw usage?
https://calmatters.org/digital-democracy/2025/02/california-wildfire-prevention/
Thanks - this is an interesting read. What's your take away on it?
Very simple TJ, “Biodiversity” over saving lives and property. Once again in California, the Environmentalists calls the shots. Meanwhile, we have feckless, cowardly politicians that refuse to lead. Lastly, the Endangered Species Act” actually endangers human beings!
Oh these politicians are not refusing to lead ‘
They are following their agenda no matter what the long term effect or the will of the people. Perhaps the new coming head count’ in voter roll will insure a much needed change
There has been a lot of dead tree removal over the last few years. I recall at first signs warning to enter at your own risk due to falling dead trees due to long term drought...global warm....crisis.... bla....burble....burp. Since then the city has removed tons of dead trees and significantly thinned the grove. I have been hiking there since the 1980's so this is what I have observed.
Excuse me, hydrant 26, but I forgot to say one other thing, regarding Jeffrey Epstein, Pam Bondi, and two-week taco. Bondi and taco are doubling down, so as it is said, I have to say “the lady doth protest too much methinks”.
How about cutting down the trees - they're dangerous and messy.