The Santa Barbara County Fire Department is conducting a prescribed pile burn of up to seven acres of brush this week along Painted Cave Road, off Highway 154 in the mountains above Santa Barbara, weather and air -quality conditions permitting.

The Fire Department planned and coordinated the burn — scheduled to take place from Monday through Dec. 4 — along with the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, the San Luis Obispo County APCD, the San Joaquin Valley APCD, the Ventura County APCD, and the California Air Resources Board.

According to a news release, prescribed burns can help prevent the spread of wildfires and reduce impacts to watersheds that can result in soil loss and sedimentation.

The county Air Pollution Control District is advising people to take precautions to reduce harmful health effects if they can see or smell smoke in their area, especially for children, older adults, and those with heart and lung conditions.

Symptoms of smoke exposure include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chest tightness or pain, nausea, and unusual lightheadedness or fatigue.

The district advised people in affected areas to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible. It added that those who are sensitive to smoke should consider temporarily relocating and closing all doors and windows during the burn.

The Painted Cave area has experienced several large wildfires over the years, most notably the Painted Cave Fire in 1990 and the Cave Fire in 2019.

A fire history map can be found on the County Fire Department’s website here, and a statewide prescribed burn map can be found here.

The prescribed burn depends on weatherl and air-quality conditions; if conditions are unfavorable, the burn will be rescheduled.

— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.