In an attempt to reduce the chance of wildfire, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to strengthen enforcement along Montecito’s Hot Springs Trail.

Since 2020, the trail has exploded into an international destination because of the bathing pools at the top of the trail. The warm pools are human-made and attract people from outside the area who learned about them through a viral TikTok video during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supervisors voted 5-0 to spend $25,000 from the general fund to pay for increased enforcement over 20 red flag warning days this year. The Sheriff’s Office also will come up with a plan for parking restrictions and red flag warning days, which are essentially when the National Weather Service suggests that conditions are strong enough to create a wildfire with a rapid spread.

Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Roy Lee brought forward the proposal, and his chief of staff, Wade Cowper, made the presentation to the board.

“Over the past five or six years, certainly since COVID, we have had increased visitor traffic at the Hot Springs Trail,” Cowper said. “Most of this is due to social media, TikTok bringing a ton of attention to a previously local trailhead.”

He said the increasing number of people who use the trail has increased fire risks. The area has a history of fires largely because of conditions such as dry vegetation, steep terrain and strong sundowner winds. In addition, eyewitnesses have reported tiki torches and campfires on the trail.

The trail has only eight legal parking spaces. People park illegally in front of homes and on the side of the road where parking is not allowed. It is nearly impossible to find a parking space on weekends.

“Current parking enforcement exists, but it has been a bit inconsistent,” Cowper said. “There are narrow roads in the area that increase evacuation concerns. Congested roads in those times can hinder first responders during wildfire events but also during evacuation.”

He also asked that the trail and parking spaces be closed on days after heavy rains “to prevent the building of illegal watersheds and watershed management outside of what has been permitted by law in the national forest.”

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden closes on red flag warning days.

The U.S. Forest Service has the power to issue citations, but the group’s first move is to educate people about the dangers of illegal trail behavior.

“I think it is a very smart approach,” Third District Supervisor Laura Capps said. “I know the community has been up in arms for years.”

The romanticized Hot Springs Trail adds to the vibe and aura of Montecito, home to several famous people, including Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Montecito residents have expressed concern, anger and outrage over the number of people, many of them tourists, who visit the hot springs every day of the year, and people who park illegally on the area’s narrow roads.

The vehicles have at times blocked residents’ driveways and other homeowners’ lines of sight when backing out of their driveways. Trash is often dumped in people’s backyards, mailboxes are vandalized and people start campfires in the hills, residents say.

A couple of weeks ago, a tour bus from Orange County was spotted dropping off dozens of people at the trailhead. A member of the community used a smartphone to record the drop-off and circulated it.

On Saturday, a local resident took a video of a bus from MKS Charter.

In 2012, the Board of Supervisors approved no parking in Mission Canyon on red flag warning days.

“Our usage of the Hot Springs Trail and the impacts and the potential fire danger is real in this area,” Montecito Fire Protection District Chief David Neels said.

He said that last week there were 12 hours of red flag warnings.

“This program is something we have looked forward to for many, many years,” Neels said. “Every effort we take is to build a safer community through fire preparedness. This project is something we are very supportive of.”

The district is expected to return to the Board of Supervisors in about six months with an update on how the program is working.