A tanker drops retardant on the Madre Fire burning on July 3. Credit: Ryan Cullom / Noozhawk photo
From wildfires and major government decisions to graduation ceremonies and community events such as parades and protests, Noozhawk reporters and photographers were there to capture it all.
Scroll down to revisit some Santa Barbara County news photographs from 2025.
The new Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is sworn in on Jan. 7, including, from left, Roy Lee, Joan Hartmann and Bob Nelson. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photoAriana Grande is recognized with the Virtuosos Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Feb. 9. Credit: Fritz Olenberger photoTimothée Chalamet poses with the enthusiastic crowd at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Feb. 11. Credit: Fritz Olenberger photoRob Fredericks, executive director of the Santa Barbara Housing Authority, speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony. The agency started construction on multiple apartment building projects in 2025. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photoSteve Rusch, left, Sable Offshore Corp.’s vice president of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs, addresses the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors during a February discussion on permit transfers. The company wants to restart oil production for its offshore platforms. Credit: Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk file photoThe Environmental Defense Center’s Linda Krop and Jeremy Frankel address the Board of Supervisors about Sable’s request to transfer permits. The EDC and other groups have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the company’s moves to restart operations. Credit: Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photoSpelling bee second-place finisher Emiliano Jimenez, left, winner Abby McBeth and third-place finisher Sonora Landa celebrate with their trophies after this year’s spelling bee hosted by the Santa Barbara County Education Office. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photoPrivate investigator Michael Claytor, attorney Tyrone Maho and Liz Hamel’s father, Alain Hamel, ask the community for information about Hamel’s deadly fall at a UC Santa Barbara dorm. UCPD later determined her death was the result of an accidental fall. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photoMichael Guerra, Righetti High School’s FFA adviser, shows off a berry at the organization’s booth at the Santa Maria Valley Strawberry Festival. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photoThe Deepwater Diving Monument depicts a diver wearing the revolutionary Kirby Morgan Superlite 17 Diving Helmet. The monument installed this year is meant to honor Santa Barbara’s history as the birthplace of deepwater diving. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photoSeveral thousand people, one of the largest protests in memory, covers downtown Santa Barbara on April 5. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photoSharyn Chan works on her artwork for Santa Barbara’s I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival. Credit: Sydney Hlavaty / Noozhawk photoMourners gather at the Greek Theatre at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta to remember the lives of three students — Jake Curtis, 18, Michael Ochsner, 17, and Alexander Wood, 15 — who died in a car crash on Highway 1 after lifeguarding in Jalama Beach. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photoOfficers Jessica Rubio and Jesus Caro from the Santa Maria Police Department Equestrian Unit participate in the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Parade on May 31. They received the Exalted Ruler’s Trophy, one of two given to equestrians. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photoSanta Barbara police, right, use a drone for surveillance during a law enforcement response to a Montecito mansion on May 21. A man faces criminal charges of attempted murder and assault after breaking into Ty Warner’s mansion on Channel Drive. Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk file photoMaj. Richele Wittman and Chloe, 6, check out a new home for the Vandenberg Space and Missile Technology Center in the former Marshallia Ranch Golf Course clubhouse. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photoA damaged clock is seen in the wreckage of a fire-damaged building in downtown Solvang. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photoA float representing a fishing boat and a giant kraken roll along in Santa Barbara’s Summer Solstice Celebration parade. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photoPrimitiva Hernandez, executive director of 805UndocuFund, calls on local elected officials to take action to protect immigrant communities during a protest June 10 at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa Barbara. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photoAn activist holds an American flag as people walk along State Street in protest of President Donald Trump on June 14. The gathering had an estimated 10,000 people in attendance. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photoSan Marcos High School graduates don decorated caps for commencement. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photoSanta Barbara High School’s 2025 graduates toss their caps after receiving diplomas at commencement as the school celebrated its 150th year. Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photoFederal agents raid a Carpinteria cannabis business on July 10, and a crowd of at least 100 people gather to protest the operation. Ten workers were detained at the Carpinteria facility operation, which involved dozens of federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the National Guard. Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photoA crowd confronts federal agents conducting an immigration enforcement operation at a Carpinteria cannabis farm. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photoFourth of July fireworks light up the sky above the Santa Barbara waterfront. Credit: Ray Ford / Noozhawk photoA large crowd gathers at Dos Pueblos High School for Goleta’s Fourth of July drone show. Credit: Felipe Garcia / Noozhawk photoDancers dazzle on the steps of the Old Mission Santa Barbara to kick off the 101st Old Spanish Days Fiesta with La Fiesta Pequeña. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photoFlames from the Gifford Fire line both sides of Highway 166 on Aug. 2. Credit: Ray Ford / Noozhawk photoSmoke billows from the Gifford Fire burning northeast of Santa Maria on Aug. 4. Firefighters stand on ground tinged red from aircraft retardant drops to slow the blaze. Credit: Ray Ford / Noozhawk photoDancers from Ballet Folklorico Patria Mexicana twirl colorful skirts during the Old Spanish Days parade. Credit: Sydney Hlavaty / Noozhawk photoParade riders in colorful western and Fiesta-inspired outfits wave to the crowd during the Historic Parade on Cabrillo Boulevard. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photoShoppers browse the titles of books at the Mary Jane McCord Planned Parenthood Book Sale at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photoA menacing skeleton’s upper body guards Katie and Dean McKillen’s home on De la Vina Street in Santa Barbara. The couple are among residents who put a lot of thought and time into their Halloween decorations. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photoSanta Barbara County sheriff’s deputies respond to a reported knife assault at the Ralphs grocery store at 5170 Hollister Ave. on Nov. 20. Deputies shot and killed the suspect, according to department spokeswoman Raquel Zick. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photoThe small and lightweight butterfly tracker used in a Goleta grove is made up of an antenna and a tiny solar panel. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photoTrace Agin gets a tree ready for display on the Friday after Thanksgiving at the Agin Family Christmas Trees lot on Industrial Way in Buellton. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photoJohn Hotchkiss, left, president of the Santa Maria Valley Sportsman Association, rides on the group’s float alongside family members during the Old Town Orcutt Christmas Parade. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photoMembers of the Vortex Travel Baseball team can’t contain their excitement as they travel the route for the Santa Maria Parade of Lights. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photoLaura Ramirez and her daughters, Elizabeth, Aide and Victoria Ramirez, and dog Shakira decked out in a reindeer outfit, arrive at the parade more than an hour early to stake out a prime viewing spot for the Goleta Holiday Parade. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photoA SpaceX rocket blasts off Dec. 13 from Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver another set of Starlink satellites. Credit: SpaceX photoMotorists navigate through a flooded section of Hollister Avenue in Goleta on Christmas Eve. Credit: Ryan Cullom / Noozhawk photoAn aerial view as water from Lake Cachuma is released through Bradbury Dam. Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo
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