Tag archives: Thomas Fire
On January 12 at 5 pm, I received media clearance at the corner of Coast Village Road and Coast Village Circle from the SBPD to view the large-scale Thomas Fire Flood rescue and clean-up operations along CVR through Olive Mill Road to Virginia Road. The SBPD asked that the MJ emphasize to all readers the […]
Several Montecito schools – Montecito Union, Cold Spring, Crane, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Laguna Blanca, All Saints-by-the-Sea – have resumed classes at various locations. “Getting the students back in school and on a regular schedule is a top priority, and MUS administration and staff have been working around the clock to bring this about,” […]
Please, let’s keep as many boulders that have clobbered our community as possible; place them someplace in Montecito (Manning Park, Toro Canyon Park, the Cold Spring area, the lot we traded with the Y next to MUS) and build a big, big awesome (think Awahnee) community stone house recreation center. Have several big outdoor stone […]
The catastrophic fire and flood of 2017-18 has changed the face of a number of parts of Montecito for years to come. The mud and debris flow that came down the mountains behind us tossed cars around like Tinker toys and ripped homes off their foundations, filling the landscape with toxic mud and mold. Many […]
Thousands of firefighters, utility crews, contractors, and rescue workers have been working around the clock following last week’s deadly mudslides in Montecito. Now considered a search and recovery mission, three people remain missing as of press time; 20 people have perished, and the majority of Montecito residents remain under a mandatory evacuation as crews search […]
It was a double whammy. First the fire, and then came the flood. And, in this case, it wasn’t so much a “flood” as a debris-laden runoff from the denuded hills above Montecito. The flow of boulders, mud, and timber that came crashing down, crafted a direct route from the burn area to the ocean, […]
Richard Groves, the co-founder and executive director of the Sacred Art of Living Center, in Bend, Oregon, has been leading workshops and retreats in the Enneagram for nearly 30 years, including up to three times a year at La Casa de Maria in Montecito. An ordained Catholic priest, Groves conducted research for his doctoral thesis […]
Peter Walker Hunt‘s letter (“Put the Fires Out!” MJ #23/51) brings out the stunning reality of what our communities have just gone through. Current federal policy on wildfire management is choking us in the smoke of burned tax dollars. The devastation and death of wildlife is a by-product of the “goal line” set within a […]
(photos courtesy MFPD chief Chip Hickman) Most in Montecito have no idea how close we came to community decimation two weeks before Christmas. At 6 am Saturday, December 16, 2017, sundowner winds of 30 mph, gusting up to 60 mph, drove the Thomas wildfire, the largest in California history, past the firefighter containment lines on […]
On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, Montecito endured the most catastrophic natural disaster of the last several decades as a rain storm created multiple mudslides and flooding, taking the lives of at least 13 people. As of press time, more than 25 Montecito residents remain unaccounted for; there are also dozens of homes lost and even […]
Westmont began spring semester as scheduled on January 8, while preparing campus for rain late that afternoon and the following day. The college was not in Santa Barbara County’s evacuation zone that included many areas below the Thomas Fire burn scar, but public safety officers kept a 24-hour watch for flooding. In the first chapel […]
As another year passes, we reflect on notable events in the Montecito community. From California’s largest wildfire, progress on development and new businesses, school happenings, retirements, and more, 2017 was a busy year in Montecito. While far from all-inclusive, here is a snapshot of our community’s happenings in 2017. Thomas Fire Without a doubt, […]
“You’ve got a big-ass fire headed straight your way,” was the salty salutation I heard when answering the phone. The caller was William J. Myers, a lifelong family friend and veteran retired firefighter known more familiarly as Bill. I was a bit perplexed, as the only fire I had heard about at the time was […]
It was just before 6:30 pm, December 4 – which happens to be Feast Day for the beloved Saint Barbara, the Patroness of Fire and Lightning – when what turned out to be the largest wildfire in California’s recorded history started to burn. The Thomas Fire started just north of Santa Paula. That same night, […]
I have a couple ideas to help our local economy in regards to the recent tragic Thomas Fire. My suggestion is to have a Holiday Re-Do on February 25. This gives all the businesses, companies, nonprofits, clubs, and individuals an opportunity to re-do their parties and events that were canceled due to the Thomas Fire. This […]
We only had a little over an hour with Montecito Fire chief Chip Hickman, as he had to escort some of the people who’d lost their homes back to their property, but we made the most of our time. No Montecito firefighters were lost or even hurt throughout the ordeal. There was one death, that […]
What a ride this has been for us all. While we are not yet out of the woods of what will probably turn out to be the worst wildfire in California’s history, I write this letter with a cautious sense of optimism. There are still over 8,000 firefighters on this fire. On 12-hour shifts, there […]
Last edition, the cover of Montecito Journal boasted the line “Saving Montecito”, with a photo of a Montecito fire truck at Station 1 on San Ysidro Road. Little did we know that roughly 48 hours after the newspaper hit stands, Montecito firefighters – along with thousands of others from across at least seven states – […]
(Provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department) At approximately 11:10 am on Wednesday, December 13, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the Thomas Fire Incident Command of a potential marijuana Butane Honey Oil (BHO) extraction lab in the 2200 block of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito. The residence was located […]
Dealing with the Thomas Fire likely has been stressful, at the least for those in Montecito and environs who have been lucky enough not to have suffered more physical losses. The mandatory evacuation of such spiritual retreat centers as La Casa de Maria, Vedanta temple, and the MacVeagh House at the Museum of Natural History […]
