Tag archives: Montecito Fire Protection District

On Monday, October 28, the Board of Directors of Montecito Fire Protection District approved Resolution No. 2019-08, which calls for the establishment of a standing committee to explore mutually beneficial locations for new fire station locations in the jurisdictions of the Montecito Fire Protection District and the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire District. The Committee, called the Fire […]

Paving work began on Coast Village Circle earlier this week; the beginning of a two-month long restoration project to rehabilitate the road following the 1/9 Debris Flow in January 2018. The Debris Flow caused major damage to the roadway on Coast Village Circle due to flooding and the presence of heavy equipment; the project will […]

At a board meeting on Monday, June 24, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors appointed Division Chief of Operations Kevin Taylor as the next Fire Chief of the Montecito Fire Department. “I appreciate the faith and confidence the Board has placed in me to lead this fantastic organization,” Chief Taylor said to a […]

At a Montecito Fire Protection District board meeting last week, Montecito Fire Chief Chip Hickman announced his retirement in July. Before taking the role as Chief in 2012 as the successor of Fire Chief Kevin Wallace, Chief Hickman was a 21-year veteran of the MFPD, beginning his career in 1990 as one of the District’s […]

Montecito Association (MA) members have identified three issues – water security, including lifetime independence from drought; effective recycling with re-use of wastewater; safety and security from future flood and debris flows – as critical issues facing Montecito that need to be explored and resolved as the community looks toward a better future. To resolve any […]

This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and the Montecito Fire Protection District would like to acknowledge and thank their dispatchers for their dedication, hard work, and amazing skills. “They are the heroes behind the scene, processing emergent and non-emergent calls for service on a daily basis,” said MFPD Communications Coordinator Jackie Jenkins.  The […]

Craig Lewis, founder of the Clean Coalition, was in front of the Montecito Association’s Land Use Committee earlier this week discussing the Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative, which is a project designed to provide indefinite renewable back up power for critical facilities in Montecito during emergencies.  The Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative aims to build multiple community […]

The Montecito Fire Protection District received the District Transparency Certificate of Excellence by the Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF) in recognition of its outstanding efforts to promote transparency and good governance.  “This award is a testament to Montecito Fire Protection District’s commitment to open government,” said Fire Chief Chip Hickman. “The entire district staff is to […]

In a unanimous vote on Monday, February 25, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors authorized Fire Chief Chip Hickman to enter into negotiations with Clean Coalition, a non-profit whose mission is to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a modern energy grid.  Craig Lewis, founder of Clean Coalition, explained to the Board […]

At a board meeting on Monday, January 28, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors appointed a new director: Judy Ishkanian. Ishkanian takes the seat vacated by John Venable, who served for 16 years on the Fire District Board before announcing his retirement in December. Ishkanian will be required to run for the seat […]

After over two years of extensive renovations, Lotusland has announced the opening of its Japanese Garden, which was originally created in the 1960s and is the only remaining post-World War II Japanese Garden that is open to the public on the central coast between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.  Construction began in February 2017, […]

Later this week, Montecito Fire Protection District will release a draft amendment to its Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), following lessons learned from the Thomas Fire in 2017 as well as findings from the recently released “A Defensible Community: A Retrospective Study of Montecito Fire Protection District’s Wildland Fire Program During the 2017 Thomas Fire” […]

It is more than obvious that 2018 was a pivotal year for Montecito and its residents. The first week of the year, we were recovering from the Thomas Fire, which weeks earlier had suffocated Montecito and Santa Barbara in smoke and ash while scorching nearly 282,000 acres from Ventura to Santa Barbara, including ten structures […]

On Monday, November 27, a Badge Pinning ceremony took place at the board of directors meeting of the Montecito Fire Protection District to honor three recently promoted fire personnel.  Rod Walkup was promoted to engineer. He joined the organization in 1995 as a reserve firefighter and was hired full time August 1, 1999. He is […]

The 7th annual Season of Hope food and toy drive is underway; Montecito Fire Protection District is now accepting donations of non-perishable foods and new, unwrapped toys at both fire stations. The community-wide event is sponsored by KSBY and includes local non-profit organizations, fire departments, and several businesses.  The donations go to the Unity Shoppe’s “Central Distribution Facility,” […]

On Tuesday, October 30, Montecito Fire Protection District hosted a special awards ceremony at Montecito Union School. The formality was to honor two MFPD firefighters for their courage and bravery during the January 9 debris flow. Wildland specialist Maeve Juarez and firefighter/paramedic Andrew Rupp were each given a Medal of Valor award, which is the […]

The Montecito Fire Protection District is hosting two meetings next week to discuss wildfires. The first will be a review of the 2017 Thomas Fire and the Department’s Wildland Fire Program, and the second will be a discussion about climate change and its effects on wildfires. On Wednesday, October 17, MFPD will present a report […]

At this month’s Montecito Association (MA) Board meeting, three new faces joined the organization, including new executive director Sharon Byrne. Outgoing executive director Allison Marcillac, hired in November, lost her home in the mudslide in January, and has decided to resign in order to focus her time and effort on rebuilding her home. “I have […]

The Kick Ash Bash, thrown at polo-playing hotel magnate Pat Nesbitt‘s sprawling Summerland estate in February, certainly lived up to its name as checks totaling more than $1.3 million to first responder organizations, including the City and County fire departments, the Montecito Fire Protection District, SB City Police, Direct Relief, and SB County sheriff, were […]