A Fiery Plea from Hydrant 26
By Michael Mills. (as told by Hydrant #26)
Hello there, neighbor! It’s me—your humble, yellow, and slightly sun-faded fire hydrant, standing sentinel at the very edge of the eucalyptus grove, where the scent of those silvery leaves wafts through the air like nature’s own cologne. The air smells like spa day and danger all at once. Normally, I keep my bolts tight, and my nozzle shut. But today? I’ve got something urgent to say. So please, lend me your ears—and maybe a little help.
I am almost solely responsible for providing the water to fight a fire in a very large, densely packed eucalyptus grove. That grove is right up against the Santa Barbara Shores neighborhood in Goleta.
You might admire the towering eucalyptus trees, their silvery leaves shimmering in the breeze. But let me tell you, from my ground-level vantage point, those trees are a tinderbox waiting for a spark. Eucalyptus bark peels off in long, dry strips, and the oil in their leaves is as flammable as lighter fluid. Eucalyptus trees are notorious for fueling intense wildfires—their loose bark can send embers flying like fiery confetti. If a fire starts here, it won’t just stop at the grove. It’ll leap toward your neighborhoods, licking at fences, rooftops, and dreams.
As you can see, there are houses cheek to jowl right up against the grove. I worry that I won't be able to provide enough water when the time comes. It is a sobering responsibility. From where I stand, the line between beauty and catastrophe is thin.
A few of my fellow fire hydrants are some distance away in the neighborhood. But none have direct access to the grove. And the grove is very large and densely packed with very tall eucalyptus trees. I fear that even with all my fellow neighborhood fire hydrants working together, we would only amount to a motley bucket brigade in a losing battle against a fire that will likely become a raging inferno. When that happens all the water that I can provide won't be enough to save the houses that I am here to protect. I fear that some of the humans that live in these houses may be at great risk of injury or worse.
At least some of the homeowners here have fire insurance. But insurance companies know that the fire risk is severe, and they are canceling the homeowners’ insurance policies. After what happened in Pacific Palisades, Eaton, Lahaina, and Paradise, can you blame them?
There need to be more yellow fire hydrants like me standing sentinel.
After a disaster it is often realized that money that should have been allocated for prevention often ends up being spent on far more costly rebuilding after the fact. Yes, prevention is expensive, but it is a small price when compared to the truly staggering costs that follow in the aftermath of a fiery conflagration.
Not to mention the human toll. Human lives are not monetizable; they are invaluable. In the Pacific Palisades, CA, Eaton, CA, Lahaina, HI, and Paradise, CA fires 217 people lost their lives. How many lives will be lost in the Santa Barbara Shores/Ellwood eucalyptus grove fire?
One is too many.
I have given it some thought. Here are a few things that I think should be done very soon to save homes and lives:
Create a paved fire access road between the groves and the houses.
Line the road with fire hydrants.
Remove the electrical lines that run along the grove and put them underground. Right now, a tree branch can fall on an electrical line and spark a fire. In Paradise, CA PG&E is relocating power lines underground to prevent downed lines from sparking fires and to keep evacuation routes clear.
Michael Mills is a 26 year resident of Goleta and a UCSB alum. His day job is professor of evolutionary psychology at Loyola Marymount University; at night he plays locally with The Hoodlum Friends rock band.
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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?
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.