The search for the next chief of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department continues as the Board of Supervisors prepares to interview the final candidates in a closed session on Monday.

The county is looking for a new Fire Department leader after Chief Mark Hartwig announced in July that he is retiring at the end of the year. Hartwig was named as the head of the department in 2019.

Hartwig’s career spans over 33 years, starting with the San Bernardino County Fire Department, where he served as chief, and previously as a battalion chief and deputy chief with the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District.

Hartwig is staying on until the end of the year to help establish a smooth transition plan for when the new chief is chosen and when they will start, according to Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta, communications manager for the county. There is no set date for when he will officially step down.

Gerckens Buttitta stated that the candidates and the number of people under consideration are confidential. She said the county doesn’t have a date for when the new chief will be announced, but it will be made public in a press release.

The county department covers 2,480 square miles and serves about 172,000 people in the unincorporated areas such as Orcutt, Vandenberg Village and most of the Santa Ynez Valley, along with acting as the fire agency for the cities of Buellton, Goleta and Solvang.

The department has 321 personnel, 16 fire stations and an operating budget of $128 million.

The salary range for the position is between $234,936 to $305,427 based on the candidate’s experience.