Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Bucket Drops: The dropping of fire retardants or suppressants from specially designed buckets slung below a helicopter. Fuel Type: An identifiable association of fuel elements of a distinctive plant species, form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics that will cause a predictable rate of fire spread or difficulty of control under specified weather conditions. Incident Action Plan (IAP): Contains objectives reflecting the overall incident strategy and specific tactical actions and supporting information for the next operational period. The plan may be oral or written. When written, the plan may have a number of attachments, including: incident objectives, organization assignment list, division assignment, incident radio communication plan, medical plan, traffic plan, safety plan, and incident map.

Santa Barbara County Fire responded to several spot fires along Hwy. 101 near Palmer road today. Approximately 2-3 acres burned in the center divider. Battalion 17, ME24 (Los Alamos), ME323 (Sisquoc) ME321 (Old Town Orcutt), WT26 (Orcutt), Crew 10 (Cachuma Lake) responded to extinguish the fire. ... Both northbound and southbound number 1 lanes were closed for safety by the CHP for a short time. The cause is under investigation.

SBC in the News- KEYT report on the injury accident Saturday near Lompoc.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk Report on the injury accident Friday on Highway 166.

Final inspection completed at KME in Pennsylvania on (6) Type 1 engines. Anticipated delivery to Santa Barbara County is end of July 2021. Thank you to Captains Mike Klusyk, Rob Beeson and Shawn Steiner for their attention to detail during the inspection process.

THERMAL LAYERING OF GASES Outcome of combustion in a confined space in which gases tend to form into layers, according to temperature, with the hottest gases found at the ceiling and the coolest gases at floor level.

Flame Height: The average maximum vertical extension of flames at the leading edge of the fire front. Occasional flashes that rise above the general level of flames are not considered. This distance is less than the flame length if flames are tilted due to wind or slope. Head of a Fire: The side of the fire having the fastest rate of spread. Slop-over: A fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier intended to contain the fire.

Saponification - A phenomenon that occurs when mixtures of alkaline-based chemicals and certain cooking oils come into contact resulting in the formation of a soapy film. These are found in Class K fires that involve oils and greases normally found in commercial kitchens and food preparation facilities using deep fryers.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the injury accident Tuesday in Goleta.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the vegetation fire Monday south of Lompoc.

Mineral Soil: Soil layers below the predominantly organic horizons; soil with little combustible material. Red Card: Fire qualification card issued to fire rated persons showing their training needs and their qualifications to fill specified fire suppression and support positions in a large fire suppression or incident organization. Red Flag Warning: Term used by fire weather forecasters to alert forecast users to an ongoing or imminent critical fire weather pattern.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on small plane crash Sunday in Santa Ynez.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the early morning structure fire in Goleta.

Medic Truck 30 (City of Solvang) responds to a medical emergency. Please remember to pull to the right for sirens and lights.

SBC, along with NORAD, invite you to follow Santa with the kids as he makes his round the world journey.

SBC in the News - Santa Barbara Independent report on the homeless camps in Isla Vista

A range improvement burn of approximately 220 acres Tuesday on the Monighetti Ranch northeast of Lompoc. The large column of smoke was visible throughout central & northern Santa Barbara County. The burn is done in coordination with local APCD’s

To help save mileage & general wear and tear on the sleigh and reindeer, we let Santa borrow one of our trucks yesterday to travel around the Goleta area to spread some socially distanced holiday cheer.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the injury accident Monday near Santa Maria.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the motorcycle accident Saturday near Buellton.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the structure fire Monday in Orcutt.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the vegetation fire Saturday in the Santa Ynez Valley.

The nearly full moon rises Friday October 30, behind the firefighter statue in Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s Memorial Plaza. The moon will be full on Halloween for the first time since 1944. It’s also a blue moon, which means it’s the second full moon of the month, and it won’t happen again like this until 2039.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department plans to conduct three separate prescribed burns through December. Prescribed fires typically burn less intensely than wildfires. Prescribed burns can help prevent the spread of wildfires and can reduce impacts to watersheds that can result in soil loss and sedimentation. Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) staff review the Smoke Management Plans and provide conditions to minimize smoke impacts in Santa Barbara County. The burns will occur when the meteorological conditions are highly favorable to direct smoke away from population centers. Once the burn day has been selected for each burn, a day-before media advisory will be issued.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk report on the 2007 Zaca Fire.

SBC in the News- Noozhawk Report on the small vegetation fire Wednesday near Refugio State Beach.

SBC in the News - SBC has sent a five engine Type-3 Strike Team, along with Crew 10, and other personnel to assist with the Silverado Fire burning in Orange County. For more information on the fire, click on the link from our friends at the Orange County Register.

SBC’s Crew 11 is still assigned to the Creek Fire burning in the Sierra National Forest. The fire, which began on September 4th, has charred 357,656 acres and is 61% contained.