Charles Harris, the Fire Safe Council’s community resilience program associate, walks workshop participants on Wednesday through examples of homes that are more resilient against fire.
Charles Harris, the Fire Safe Council’s community resilience program associate, walks workshop participants on Wednesday through examples of homes that are more resilient against fire. Credit: Evelyn Spence / Noozhawk photo

The Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council’s mission? Fighting fire before the first ember sparks. 

And the community is paying close attention. Spots in the council’s educational workshops are quickly filling up, its grant funding has jumped, and the number of local communities with an approved plan to minimize their fire risk has more than tripled in one year, representatives told Noozhawk.

“The whole intent behind our mission is really just wildfire prevention and wildfire preparedness on a large scale,” said Charles Harris, the council’s community resilience program associate.

The grant and donation-funded nonprofit was founded in 1997 with an all-volunteer board and no staff. It found its foothold in 2020, when it received its first major grant, and its first staff member came on board.

Now, it has nine full-time staff members and somewhere in the ballpark of $15 million in grant funding, Harris said.

Harris is largely involved with coordinating the local Firewise USA program, which helps communities reduce their fire risk. It is overseen on a national level by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Harris, alongside members of an area’s local fire department, tours neighborhoods with homeowners and helps them identify their fire risks at no cost.

He then helps them create a three-year action plan to reduce those risks. They fill out paperwork to submit for review by the NFPA and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE). 

If approved as a “Firewise” community, residents can potentially get discounts on their fire insurance. 

A Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council diorama showing a home, at left, created with materials and reinforced with measures that are less likely to burn; and at right, a home made of wood, with uncleared brush and trees close together. The home at right is more likely to burn in a wildfire, Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council representatives said at a Wednesday afternoon workshop at Santa Barbara City College.
A Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council diorama showing a home, at left, created with materials and reinforced in a way that is less likely to burn; and at right, a home made of wood, with uncleared brush and trees close together. The home at right is more likely to burn in a wildfire, council representatives said at a recent workshop at Santa Barbara City College. Credit: Evelyn Spence / Noozhawk photo

At the start of 2025, the county had 22 Firewise-certified communities.

Now, it has 72. 

Most are located in South County, with a handful up in North County. Harris said he saw interest in the Firewise program spike after the Los Angeles fires in the Palisades and Altadena last year. He said “hundreds” of calls came in.

“Post those LA fires, there was this big boom, and community members and residents realized they need to be prepared,” he said. 

The council also offers other free, grant-funded programs: community chipping for areas in high- or very-high fire zones that don’t already qualify for free chipping through their local fire department; prescribed grazing with sheep and goats; Defensive Space Assistance, which helps mobility-challenged residents clean out their yards; and confidential home fire evaluations. 

That list doesn’t include the council’s recent push into free educational workshops.

The council offers workshops geared toward members of the general public as well as tradespeople.

During workshops on April 20 and April 21, community members working in landscape, architecture and other fields learned design strategies for reducing wildfire risk.

These workshops help shift the way the community thinks about wildfire, Harris said. 

He said for the past century, the “mindset toward wildfire has been suppression… there hasn’t been too much thought into prevention and how we let fires burn out more naturally.” 

Members of Santa Barbara’s Hope Ranch community talked about wildfire preparedness last July with members of the Fire Safe Council.
Members of Santa Barbara’s Hope Ranch community talked about wildfire preparedness last July with the Fire Safe Council. Credit: Courtesy photo

Last week, during a Home Hardening and Firescaping Workshop at Santa Barbara City College, three council members walked community members through the different materials they can use to protect their homes and the recommended CALFIRE regulations. 

Under CALFIRE direction, residents should create defensible space around a home using three zones: Zone 0, Zone 1, and Zone 2. 

Zone 0 — also known as the ignition zone — is the area between 0 and 5 feet from a home. Residents should use hardscape like gravel, pavers or concrete, remove all dead and dying plants, and limit combustible items. 

In Zone 1 (5 to 30 feet), representatives recommend regularly clearing dead or dry vegetation and trimming trees to keep branches at least 10 feet away from other trees. 

In Zone 2 (30 to 100 feet) residents should cut or mow annual grass down to 4 inches; create horizontal space between trees and shrubs and vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees; and remove fallen leaves, among other recommendations.

The full CALFIRE guidelines largely apply to homes in moderate, high, or very-high fire zones. Residents can see what zone they are located in by clicking here.

The goal is ultimately to create a fire break, said Charlotte Zeamer, the wildlife education program manager. 

“Fire can’t proceed — and I’m gonna repeat this again and again — to your home if there is no path of fuel,” she said. 

She said many of the structures and neighborhoods in Santa Barbara “were not built with fire in mind” and are “not the best fit… for a landscape that is gonna burn once in a while. 

“Fire is part of where we live. Fire’s not going anywhere,” she said. “This is part of the landscaping, and we have chosen to live alongside fire, just as we’ve chosen to live alongside hummingbirds and beaches, and all of the things that we love around here.” 

This home’s zone 0 is filled with brush, a wooden chair, stumps and vines — all items CALFIRE guidelines state homeowners should remove from the area around their homes to prevent fire ignition.
This diorama home’s Zone 0 is filled with brush, stumps, vines and other uncleared debris — all items Fire Safe Council representatives state homeowners should keep clear from the area immediately around their homes to prevent fire ignition. This home’s deck will also burn easily, representatives said. Credit: Evelyn Spence / Noozhawk photo

Gustavo Agredano, who conducts home assessments, said homeowners can protect themselves from embers — which can travel for miles — by eliminating the space on a roof where embers can catch on.

For homes with solar panels, for example, homeowners need to make sure that any space between the roof and the panels “doesn’t have any natural debris accumulating — leaves, needles from pine trees, and whatnot.”

He recommended people keep their roofs as clear of debris as possible.

“Embers will collect, and that’s gonna set your house on fire,” he said.

He also said using 1/8-inch stainless steel mesh to block debris from collecting in gaps would help. The mesh can also be put on vents to help prevent embers from entering a home.

Decks are also permitted under current guidelines, but they should be enforced with non-combustible or fire-retardant-treated materials. Homeowners should also enclose the space underneath with metal mesh to prevent embers from entering. 

Zeamer compared embers to “super dry snowflakes.” 

“They’re gonna come, they’re gonna ping and fall off if there’s nothing to sit on,” she said. 

Gustavo Agredano, a community resilience program associate with the Fire Safe Council, shows workshop participants at Santa Barbara City College on Wednesday examples of fuel — in this case, twigs and leaves — a fire will use to burn close to a home.
Gustavo Agredano, a community resilience program associate with the Fire Safe Council, shows workshop participants at Santa Barbara City College examples of fuel — in this case, twigs and leaves — a fire will use to burn close to a home. Credit: Evelyn Spence / Noozhawk photo

The council partners with other emergency organizations on fire prevention efforts, such as the county’s Office of Emergency Management, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the Santa Barbara, Carpinteria-Summerland and Montecito fire departments, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. 

Residents can sign up for Santa Barbara County emergency alerts with ReadySBC.org so they receive warnings and orders during a wildfire or other natural disasters. WatchDuty, a separate nonprofit, also offers fire alerts.

Harris said residents should also have a go-bag available and an evacuation plan in place and “be prepared to leave early.”

“Even without an official notice, if someone feels they are in danger, they should not hesitate to evacuate,” he said.

The council is “really here to be of service to the community,” he said. “The intent behind all of our programs is to make preparing for wildfire easier and more accessible for everybody… it’s all confidential, and it’s all free.”

Read more about emergency alerts and wildfire preparedness information here.

— Noozhawk South County editor Evelyn Spence can be reached at espence@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.