Tag archives: Montecito Fire Chief
As Tropical Storm Hilary threatened to bring significant rainfall to Southern California and into Santa Barbara County this past weekend, Montecito Fire Protection District remained in close communication with National Weather Service partners to determine how Montecito may be affected. In response, a sandbag filling station was set up at Lower Manning Park for community […]
Montecito Fire Department’s (MFD) Station 91 is an understated, red-tiled building in the foothills above Montecito – at a glance more “stately hacienda” than Command Center; though the hacienda’s 30’ aerial somewhat gives the game away. Fire Chief David Neels likewise cuts an approachable figure. Soft-spoken and earnest but given to sudden grins, he is […]
On behalf of the Montecito Fire Protection District, it is a pleasure to share our 2022 Annual Report with our community. Over the past year, our organization experienced meaningful growth, identified opportunities for improvement, and realized significant accomplishments. A noteworthy change in 2022 was the full return to engaging with our community in-person after the […]
Back in January, a standing-room-only crowd filled Montecito Union School’s auditorium for an update on what to expect this year in terms of both fire and rain. The message was exactly what residents were hoping to hear. First, a lower than average chance of the kind of rain events that could lead to another debris […]
When I first met Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor last year, I remember asking him what the biggest challenge was facing his department. “The weather,” he told me, quickly adding that the sheer unpredictability of Montecito’s weather threats, be they fire or rain, made his job uniquely worrisome. This week, I caught up with Taylor […]
The Santa Barbara County Chapter of the California Special Districts Association (SBCCSDA) honored Chip Hickman and Toni McDonald at their meeting last week, held at Root 246 Restaurant in Solvang. Montecito Fire Chief Chip Hickman received the 2018 General Manager of the year Award. Chief Hickman has been the Fire Chief for the past seven […]
First, the bad news: “There’s plenty of material up here waiting to come down,” says Kevin Taylor, division chief of Operations at Montecito Fire Department. He says this as he, I, and Montecito Fire chief Chip Hickman examine the Montecito back country and the dry steep mountains directly above in a four-person, single-rotor helicopter flown […]
