Always Be Prepared

by Bonnie Donovan

Source: www.cartoonstock.com

Successful Appeal to Save Anapamu’s Doremus Stone Pines

Tuesday was a long day at City Council with the success of the stone pines appeal. Congratulations to Rick, Cheri, and Emma on your win; excellent job.

After the appeal, our City Administrator, Kelly McAdoo, had a very important update that I wanted to get out to as many people as possible. Here is a complete transcript of what Kelly had to say:

City Administrator Kelly McAdoo’s Fire Preparedness Update:

“I wanted to take a moment to address some of the concerns we have heard circulating in our community in the wake of the devastating and tragic fires currently occurring in LA. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who are still being impacted by this ongoing incident. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the first responders who are battling these incredibly devastating fires, including our 18 Santa Barbara Fire Department personnel currently deployed. We have also had several city staff members who have been personally impacted by the fires and both our Fire and Police Chiefs as well as other City personnel are actively engaged in response activities as we struggle to contain the fires.

“While I am new to this City, I know we are no stranger to the risks of wildfire here in Santa Barbara. Most recently, the 2017 Thomas Fire has significantly influenced and improved the City’s approach to providing water services and emergency preparedness. We work across departments to prepare for emergencies and there is close coordination between our water system and our fire and police departments as well as other City departments.

“Many have asked for more community outreach around our efforts. I wanted to provide a brief overview today and to let our community know that we will be engaging in additional outreach once this immediate emergency incident is more under control. We have received a number of e-mails and phone calls from residents and the news media asking about local preparedness, and I would ask for everyone’s patience while our team is engaged in the current response. And as the mayor mentioned at Tuesday’s Council meeting after I made these comments, our team is happy to meet with any neighborhood that wishes to engage in a dialogue about improving preparedness together.

“The City has a robust water supply portfolio which include Lake Cachuma, Gibraltar Reservoir, State Water, Mission Tunnel, local groundwater, recycled water, and desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean. There is currently over three years of water available to meet the City’s needs assuming dry weather conditions. Lake Cachuma is at 90% of capacity and the City’s Desalination plant has been operating since 2017. 

“In advance of wildfires, we take a number of steps to ensure our water supply and our response personnel are prepared and available.  During Red Flag warnings and emergencies, water storage in potable water reservoirs is increased, generator fuel tanks are topped off and tested regularly (all pump stations have generator backups), and construction activity in high fire areas is modified to allow for quick reopening of streets.

“All firefighters in the City are trained and certified for wildland firefighting. We closely (daily) meet with the National Weather Service to learn about upcoming wind and weather threats. In advance of wind events, fire and law enforcement will often “up-staff” fire engines and personnel to patrol and respond if needed. Lastly, the State authorizes pre-positioning of fire apparatus in areas that have threats of fire, flood, etcetera. These resources are moved into an area in advance of a predicted event to act as supplemental response units. 

“I do want to emphasize that there are some wildfire incidents that are of such a magnitude that no potable water system, including the City’s, would have sufficient water to stop some level of destruction to a community. This is where community partnership and preparedness comes in.

• “Stay informed: Sign up for emergency alerts at ReadySBC.org.

• “Defensible space: Clear flammable vegetation near homes.

• “Fire-resistant materials: Use modern, fire-resistant construction materials.

• “Evacuation readiness: Have an evacuation plan to allow firefighters and police officers to focus on firefighting, protecting property, and securing evacuation routes.

• “Also, please comply when orders are given to evacuate – the City only issues these orders when absolutely necessary.

“The City will be exploring additional ways to support community preparedness in the coming months. We have multiple wildland fuel mitigation grants that we are implementing to trim trees and reduce fuel loads in the high fire areas. We have one wildland mitigation assessment district and are working with other interested neighborhoods to form additional districts. We will also be submitting Federal and State funding requests to initiate a community hardening program, which will help support homeowners in creating defensible space and upgrading home building materials.

“Thank you for allowing me to share this information and I look forward to further engagement with our community on this topic moving forward.”

•••

Stop the press!

This was just sent from a reader:

“I was so very pleased with the news about the trees. I am very grateful to all of you who spoke out for their preservation. Keeping these trees are part of what makes our city so special and it is so easy for a city to become just like every other city. It is a fight to keep us special and many thanks for all who stood up and saved this treasure.

Judy Orias

Former Planning Commissioner,

Former HLC member, and more.”

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