As record-breaking wildfires affect millions of people across the state of California, we recently sat down with Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor, who has been at the helm of the District for one year. From getting to know Chief Taylor and his family better, to learning about Montecito’s future fire and debris flow risk, we […]
Last week was the candidate filing period deadline for many local elections, including the Montecito Fire Protection District and Montecito Water District boards of directors. This week marks the deadline period for both public schools in Montecito (Cold Spring School and Montecito Union), as well as for the Montecito Sanitary District board. At Montecito Fire […]
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The Montecito Firefighters Charitable Foundation (MFCF) has donated two Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machines and response kits to Girls Inc. of Carpinteria. AED machines are portable, life-saving devices designed to treat people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. According to the FDA, the combination of CPR and early defibrillation is effective in saving lives when used in […]
As briefly mentioned in last week’s edition, construction began this week on additional repairs to roads and bridges affected by the Thomas Fire and the 1/9 debris flow. The projects, which the County announced last week, include the repair of 28 lane miles of road and the construction of a temporary bridge at the Cold […]
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 […]
Nearly three years after the Whittier Fire ravaged 47 out of 50 structures on the campus of Rancho Alegre, rebuilding is underway, thanks to the financial support of dozens of individuals and companies, many of whom are Montecito residents. The 50-year-old camp, which is located off the San Marcos Pass, had served 10,000 students and […]
With over a week of wet weather, Montecito debris basins, ring nets, and creek channels held up extremely well, according to Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor, who gave us an update on the weather earlier this week. Crews from County Flood Control and Public Works were in Montecito Tuesday morning, assessing the impact of the […]
Later this month, the California Assembly Insurance Committee will hear Assembly Bill 2367 (AB2367), which was introduced on February 18 by Assembly Members Monique Limon from Santa Barbara County and Lorena Gonzalez from San Diego County. The bill would, in part, create a Wildfire Resilience Task Force, which would include the Insurance Commissioner, the Director […]
The Wildfire Mitigation Awards committee has named the three recipients of this year’s Wildfire Mitigation Awards. These individuals and organizations have earned the highest commendation for innovation and leadership in wildfire mitigation for their outstanding dedication to solving many of the most complex challenges posed by wildfire; Montecito Fire Department joins Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church […]
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If you’ve been up in the foothills of Montecito the last few weeks, you may have seen crews of men clearing out brush from our local hillsides as part of the Montecito Fire Protection District’s vegetation management program. For the last several years, the crews used to perform the work have been inmate fire crews […]
As much as my husband, Bob, and I love all our local firefighters, we have a special feeling for this particular member of the team, the reason for which will be revealed as you read down to the finish of the article. Blake was born and raised in Moorpark, California. His single mother, an emergency […]
On Tuesday, December 10, the Montecito Fire Protection District marked the retirement of Communications Coordinator Jackie Jenkins, who served MFPD for 21 years. Jenkins began in Public Safety on April 1, 1980, at California State Parks, Pt. Mugu as an YCC Crew Member. At the same agency, Jackie continued as lifeguard and seasonal Ranger until […]
Last Wednesday, December 11, Montecito Association’s Beautification Committee along with Montecito firefighters and kids from Montecito Union School, upheld an over 50-year tradition of decorating the community tree. As mentioned in the Letters to the Editor section of last week’s edition, the festive holiday tradition was born in the early 1960s thanks to then Montecito […]
The standing room-only crowd that filled Montecito Union School’s meeting hall on the evening of December 5 wanted one thing above all else: good news. And by and large, that’s what they got from the group of city, state, and federal officials who presented their latest findings on both the winter weather forecast and the […]
