During a news conference Monday afternoon, local fire agencies and officials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office spoke on the dangers of high fire season.
paying attention to warnings and evacuating before it’s too late.
“Let me be clear. We issue evacuation orders to save lives, and your safety is non-negotiable,” said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.
“As we found out down south, you could be stuck in gridlock and not able to get out at all,” Fire Warden Mark A. Hartwig said.
Officials recommend having a go-bag and an evacuation plan to make sure you can leave on short notice.
“We know that leaving your property behind is unsettling, and we take our responsibility to prevent looting and maintain security very, very seriously,” said Sheriff Brown.
Fire officials say getting to safety in the case of a wildfire is the most important priority, but there are a few ways to help protect your property as well, including defensible space.
“Defensible space refers to the buffer zone created around your structure to slow the spread of wildfire. This space is essential for protecting buildings from catching fire,” Captain Scott Safechuck, the Public Information Officer for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, said.
“Clean your gutters now, because those leaves and twigs are just waiting for a fire to ignite. Weatherstripping your garage door. Even wooden fences that are attached to the house act as conduits for fire. That was one of our lessons from [the Palisades Fire],” said Joan Hartmann, the Santa Barbara County District 3 Supervisor.
“You need to do your defensible space and your home hardening. As they say, if you provide the defense, we will provide the offense,” said John Owens, the Captain of the SLO Cal Fire unit.
For more details on how you can stay up to date on fire danger in your area and how you can protect your property, click here.