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Tea Fire Forum Brings Out the Community in Montecito
Still reeling 74 days after the Tea Fire, Montecito residents packed the El Montecito Presbyterian Church hall Monday to discuss the disaster.
“Oh, it’s going to take a long time,” said Bill Palladini of the Montecito Association, which hosted the event. “This one really hurt.”
According to Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Wallace, a perfect storm of conditions led to the blaze. Fuel, aridity, steep terrain, limited access and near hurricane-strength winds all played into the combustible mix.
“This fire, once it started, was going to happen,” Wallace said.
So fierce and fast moving was the blaze that for the first few hours, the fire department’s only hope was to evacuate residents with the help of law enforcement and Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue volunteers while trying to make a stand against the flames. Attempts to box in the fire were thwarted by embers hurled by gale-force gusts. Late that Thursday, with the help of many out-of town strike teams, firefighters finally were able to adopt a more offensive stance against the blaze.
While ultimately grateful to the firefighters and law enforcement for their heroism, many residents remained frustrated by things they thought could have been handled better, as well as unforeseen difficulties presented by the disaster.
Some reported getting reverse 9-1-1 calls at 10 p.m., hours after the Tea Fire had eaten through their neighborhood. Others claimed they did not see any fire engines in their neighborhoods during their evacuations. Traffic was another concern for the semi-rural community, as neighbors reported difficulties getting away in the general confusion, smoke and ash.
For the Montecito Fire Department, there were several lessons learned, as well: better staging in the brush-heavy, mountainous terrain, better communication.
As for the too-late reverse 9-1-1 calls, tied-up or damaged phone lines were to blame: too many calls from concerned family and friends created a digital traffic jam for cell-phone users while downed communication lines made it impossible for other calls to reach homes.
The issue of who is ultimately responsible for the fire was still on the minds of some residents, who asked why authorities have not released the names of the individuals who were present at a Tea House bonfire the night before the wildfire began.
While not at liberty to speak on the identities of the 10 individuals, nine of whom are said to be SBCC students, sheriff’s Lt. Eric Koopmans said the investigation has been completed, and it is essentially up to the District Attorney’s Office to provide such information. Speculation on the identities has ignited its own firestorm of theories in the last couple of months.
Not all was anger and frustration, however. Several people commended the fire departments and law enforcement for their effectiveness against a blaze that is said to have been expected, given the conditions and history of the area.
And some solutions were suggested, including a siren system to give neighbors warning and a bond measure to fund extensive brush clearing to prevent fuel buildup.
There was not enough time to address every concern, but the meeting is only one of a series planned by the Montecito Association. Future meetings will explore the aftermath, the ongoing cleanup and future preventative measures.
“I think any time you provide an opportunity like this it’s good because it allows for two things,” said 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal. “It allows for continuous process improvements, as well as continued healing and venting.”
Write to sfernandez@noozhawk.com
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» on 01.27.09 @ 05:25 AM
Lessons learned? What a joke. How many more of these fires must this town endure before they figure out it out.
They had 30 years to “learn the lessons” of the Sycamore Canyon fire, which was almost identical to this one, and still did not manage to get a single fire truck onto Las Alturas, for example, before the homes there and on Conejo had burned to the ground. They were and continue to be completely overwhelmed. Time to try something different?
» on 01.27.09 @ 06:47 AM
Montecito Fire Department should NOT be a separate entity but should be completely folded into county fire. THEN their frequencies would be the SAME and they would have asked for help sooner.
If Montecito residents were REALLY worried about fire safety, they would cut the hedges away that cover their walls and clear the areas between the edge of the roads and their property. If property owners don’t practice the Golden Rule…then the neighborhood will burn.
» on 01.27.09 @ 07:16 AM
We should have learned the lesson to quit building in high fire risk areas, but apparently we haven’t. We keep building and re-building there and then expect firefighters to risk their lives protecting structures that shouldn’t have been build in a high risk area. The question is, when will we learn?
» on 01.27.09 @ 09:56 AM
Re. naming the culprits who started this fire, how is this different from the huge fire that started in Santa Ynez a couple of years ago on July 4. The Mexican workers who accidentally started that fire while working are being prosecuted. This is in contrast to these kids who were certainly not working and were up to no good. Is this an ugly example of racism on the part of the DA?
» on 01.27.09 @ 10:21 AM
Even a well staffed and well funded (50 employees and a budget that is close to that of Santa Barbara City Fire’s) two station department is COMPLETELY overwhelmed by a fire of this magnitude.
That said, it would be an aborgation of their fiduciary responsibility if the Montecito Fire District Board did not order thier department to work more closely with their fire department neighbors.
Local control does not mean putting your head in the sand.
Time to explore some new options, folks
» on 01.28.09 @ 08:47 AM
Traffic was a huge concern, especially since the gates at Sycamore Canyon still weren’t opened by 7PM. What an outrage!
Reverse 911 calls should have been implemented immediately as the fire was started, many people were caught completely unaware since the fire snuck up on them (us). If this fire had started after “bedtime” hours this would have been a disaster beyond imagining.
And why do the fire department’s work on different frequency’s??? Obviously there are some procedures that need to be in place ASAP to prevent that from happening again in an emergency situation.
I don’t see another bond measure as a solution. As a city hillside resident I know we pay for “wildfire suppression” something or other on our taxes, it didn’t stop my house from burning to the ground. What that extra tax did was pay for the chipping service for all the tress and brush.
Seriously - this is the risk we take when we choose to live in the hillside area. We knew that when we bought the house (escrow closed 11 years ago today, happy anniversary lol). We’ll build again and build it smarter than the original builder did 40+ years ago. We will make sure to have better insurance though :)
» on 01.28.09 @ 09:13 AM
It is understandable that fire engines surrounded the Westmont gym given there were lots of people in the gym. It is also understandable that the county told Westmont to stay on campus because the traffic jam they would create if they tried to evacuate.
However what is not understandable is why Westmont is in the high fire location they are in and why they are being allowed to build even more. It is also not understandable why Westmont pays nothing for fire protection and yet they got lots of it while many taxpayers who lost their homes never even saw a fire engine on their street.
» on 05.08.09 @ 05:26 AM
What is the update as to what happened to the students who started this fire? They were obviously old enough to know better 19-22.
» on 11.24.09 @ 06:16 AM
The community which has neither poverty nor riches will always have the noblest principles.
Quotation of Plato
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